Dancing with Danger
by jetblackash
Summary: If you would've told me a year ago that I would be doing what I am, I would've started laughing. This was something I never dreamed of. Never would I have thought of saving lives, manipulating objects, and talking through minds. I guess life throws you in for a spin when you're friends with Henry Hart. {book two}
1. introduction

Hello and welcome to the sequel to _Danger in the Darkness_! You should probably read that one first before this one or you'll be confused but whatever you'd prefer.

This story jumps in time since the ending of the first one but it will all be addressed in the first chapter. I will update every Saturday unless stated otherwise or I'm late.

I do not own anything you recognize from Henry Danger. I do own Jocelyn, her family, and the Scott brothers. Please do not take them unless you ask permission.

Anyway, comment, follow and fav! Please let me know if you guys have any questions or suggestions. I'm all ears :)

 _Enjoy._


	2. chapter one - the return

_**song for the chapter - nobody by selena gomez**_

"You know, you're getting really good at this."

My best friend and boyfriend of a year, Henry Hart sat across the room from me. From any point of view, we would look like two friends in a hotel room. Behind hidden eyes, we were something more.

We were superheros.

Henry and I were partners to Swellview's protector, Captain Man. Henry was the first sidekick under the name Kid Danger. A few years and revealed secrets later, I joined the team. I didn't exactly want a different identity so whenever the boys were confronted, they just said it was a secret.

Currently, we just finished an undercover mission to expose a business manager of theft. It was fun and I loved being able to dress up to fight. Undercover missions were the best ones. We didn't go on them often but they were eventful when we did.

"At what? Lying about where I am or fighting?" I teased back. Henry had witnessed the recent phone call between my dad and I about where I was.

"Both. Not sure about the lying part, though. I always catch you." Henry crossed the room, grabbing my wrist and pulling me towards him.

"Guess I need to work on that," I smirked up at him, taking a step closer.

"Oh gross! Can't you two keep your hands off each other for five minutes!"

None other than Ray Manchester stepped in the room, two duffel bags in hand. Ray doubled as Captain Man but also our boss. He was more a more of a friend than an adult most of the time. His words caused Henry and I to blush and we stepped away from each other to busy ourselves with packing.

"Leave them alone, Ray. They're cute."

Another figure stepped into the room, bags in hand as well. This girl, Charlotte Bolton, was another close friend of ours. She was the beauty and the brains when it came to our team. If you ever needed anything, Charlotte could figure it out fast. She also played the role of my best friend. Besides Henry, that is.

Ignoring the bickering from the other two, I shoved the rest of my stuff into my suitcase before placing it on the floor. I grabbed my phone off the bed and tucked it in my pocket before facing my friends.

"Where's Jasper?"

Jasper Dunlop, curly-haired, bucket-loving, Captain Man extraordinaire. Jasper had been a close friend of Henry's since they were babies, making him one of ours as well. He always kept us on our toes when it came to protecting Swellview.

"Already in the lobby. Come on," Charlotte waved us out of the room and took the lead. I followed, Ray and Henry behind me.

The ride down the elevator was quick and eventually we found Jasper waiting for us by the doors. He smiled at us, but didn't say anything as we all walked outside.

"I cannot wait to sleep in my own bed," I groaned.

"I know how that feels," Charlotte agreed with me. The two of us were close. Charlotte always took a smart, careful approach to everything. I was a little different, more risky and spontaneous. I loved the girl to pieces, but we still clashed on some stuff.

This weekend had exhausted me to no end. We got back at a decent hour last night but Henry and I had stayed up until the early hours of the morning talking. At that point, I couldn't go to sleep with all the thoughts our conversation had conjured up.

The chaotic mess that left me with powers started with my mom. She was a twisted woman who managed to make her way back to me and my group of friends more than we liked. Henry asked me questions about her and what it was like last night, sending me into a spiral of emotions. As much as I hated my mom, she was still my mom. She was still the one who would sing me to sleep when nightmares wouldn't leave, the one who made my hot chocolate just how I liked it, the one who put blankets in the dryer for me so they were warm and cozy.

We placed our stuff into the back of the Ray's car before piling in. I squeezed between Henry and Jasper while Charlotte took the passenger's seat. The boys were both much warmer than I was so their body heat was welcoming as I curled up.

"Cold, babe?" Henry turned to me, his hand grabbing mine.

"Little bit. Didn't bring a jacket." I shrugged in response. When Ray called about the undercover mission, it was a last minute thing. I barely had time to shove stuff in a suitcase, let alone pack the right things.

With my legs tucked under me, I pulled a blanket from the stack behind me and covered myself up, relishing in the warmth. Ray pulled onto the highway as the car fell into a comfortable silence. Henry still held my hand in his. His thumb traced patterns on the back of my hand, sending chills up my arm.

The past year with these people has been nothing short of exciting. It's kept me on my toes, for sure. The experiences we've shared, problems we faced, were nothing any other group should face. But I wouldn't change it for the world.

 _Then again, I never expected him to return._

 _ **published: september 16, 2017**_


	3. chapter two - reunion

_**song for the chapter - geronimo by sheppard**_

Friday nights managed to become movie night at my house for our group. Piper joined us occasionally, sometimes my brother, Jackson as well but for the most part, it was the four of us. We always became a tangled mess of limbs by the time the credits rolled across the screen.

Tonight was comedy night. Jasper's pick, of course, was _White Chicks_. No matter how many times we watched this movie, he always picked it again. Not that it was bad, I loved it, but eventually, you know the jokes before they come.

"Guys, can we go outside or something? I'm so bored!" Charlotte moaned from her spot on the couch.

"Hey! I like this movie," Jasper defended.

I rolled my eyes, "We know, Jasper. Let's just go take a walk for a bit. It's warm out."

Thankfully, it was summer, meaning the sky would be clear and hopefully the stars would be visible. Walks always seemed to calm me down and make me feel carefree. Walking with Henry, Charlotte, and Jasper made me even happier.

I hopped off the couch, pulling Henry with me. I quickly slipped my sandals on and unlocked the front door. The others followed behind, meaningless chatter between them. We all looked ridiculous, that was for sure. My legs were barely covered by the running shorts I had on and a thin t-shirt didn't do much to warm me. Coats weren't needed but the wind was chilly.

Our group always walked to the same little spot. Just above the Swellview sign, there was a hilltop that was flat enough for us to sit and chat for hours without being found. It wasn't the first time we came here either. Countless hours of tears, laughter, and honesty have been shared at this hill.

Crossing the street, I felt Henry's hand lock with mine. His presence gave me comfort, a feeling of protection. Even though he was Henry Hart, you could see a little bit of Kid Danger poke through his stance. Henry always carried himself with pride and confidence, but when he was around me, Charlotte, or Jasper, he loosened up a bit. There wasn't a moment that he wasn't ready to defend any of us, no matter the cost.

My eyes fell on my feet, watching as they moved one step at a time. There were barely any cars out, seeing as it was around 10:00 at night. I heard the noise of Charlotte and Jasper talking behind me. We were unusually quiet for once.

"Jocelyn?"

My head snapped up when I heard my name. Henry looked at me confused at my sudden movement. I turned to Jasper and Charlotte but neither of them had their attention on me.

"Joce? Is that you?"

I turned to the other side of the street. It didn't have a sidewalk so we stayed where we were but I saw a figure standing by a bench. They moved closer towards us but not a word was said. I felt Henry pull me back, his arm shielding me slightly.

The person kept walking across the street until they reached us. I noticed it was a boy, around Henry's height but a little bit taller. He had brown hair that was styled up on his head. His blue eyes searched my face as if he were looking for something. His shorts and t-shirt didn't register anything in my mind. Who was this kid?

"Uh, hi. Can I help you with something?" I stepped out from behind my boyfriend but kept close.

The kid let out a laugh, his dimples prominent on his cheeks. "I figured you wouldn't remember me. It's been a while."

My friends were just as confused as I was. "Oh, um sorry. I don't-"

The kid cut me off with a wave of his hand, "It's all good. It wasn't like we were best friends when we were little."

 _Blue eyes. Dark brown hair. Dimples. Oh my god._

"Wait a second. Kayden?" My eyes widened in shock. There's no way this was the little boy I grew up with.

"The one and only." He smiled cheekily back.

"No way!" I let go of Henry's hand to wrap my old friend in a hug. I felt Kayden return the gesture, squeezing me tightly.

A cough interrupted our reunion. Letting go, I turned to see Henry standing with his arms crossed. Charlotte looked at me confused, her eyes switching to me from my boyfriend.

"Oh, sorry! Guys, this is Kayden. Kayden, this is Charlotte and Jasper, two of my best friends. And that's Henry, my boyfriend." I pointed to my friends as I introduced them.

"Nice to meet you guys. Sorry for the sudden intrusion. I just moved back into Swellview with my mom. I didn't think I'd see you," He smiled over at me, moving to squeeze my shoulder.

"How do you two know each other?" Henry pointed between me and Kayden.

"Grew up together. My mom was really close with his mom. He moved away before I met you guys," I explained.

Henry nodded, "Hmm. Interesting. Well, nice to meet you, Kayden, but we really should be going! See ya!"

Henry's hand latched on my wrist before I could stop him, dragging me from Kayden. I barely had time to turn around and wave goodbye before we turned a corner, disappearing from sight.

I nudged my boyfriend in the ribs, frowning, "What was that for?"

Henry turned to glance at me, "I didn't like how touchy he was with you. He knew I was your boyfriend and still stood there like I didn't exist."

"Someone's jealous." I heard Charlotte whisper from behind us.

Henry's cheeks went red, even in the dark. I sighed, pulling his hand back in mine. We could deal with this later but right now, Jasper and Charlotte had seen enough PDA for the day and I doubted they wanted to hear a heart to heart.

The rest of the walk was silent as we finally made it to the hill. Henry pulled away from me and went to sit at the edge of the hill. Charlotte and Jasper walked up to me, both of them glancing at their friend.

"You okay?" Charlotte reached her hand out to my shoulder.

I nodded, my eyes not shifting from Henry's form. "Fine, I just wish he wouldn't get so upset about it."

Jasper nodded, "He was like that with Bianca and Chloe too. Don't sweat it. Let us know when you're ready."

Although Jasper was clumsy and rarely serious, he had his moments. He knew when it mattered most and for that, I was thankful. I watched as Charlotte and Jasper made their way towards one of the tents we had set up here a while back, most likely to clean it out.

Letting out a sigh, I walked over to my pouting boyfriend. His knees were tucked up to his chest, arms crossed on top of them. I sat next to him but kept my distance. I left my hand between us, just so he wouldn't think I was angry.

"Hen-" I tried to initiate the conversation but he cut me off with a shake of his head.

"Don't apologize. I shouldn't have acted like that. You were friends right? There's no reason to think he could take you from me." Although it came from him, it sounded more like a question than a confirmation.

Nonetheless, I nodded and moved closer to him. "It's always you, Henry. It always has been."

He sighed and let his arms drop to support him from behind. He shook his head softly before pulling his lip between his teeth. I forced myself to look away and focus on the view in front of us. The sun was long gone but the moon took its place, shining a white light across us. Stars covered the surrounding sky, twinkling back.

"I almost lost you once, Jocelyn. I'm not prepared to do it again." Henry looked over at me, his eyes not meeting mine.

I gave up on giving him distance and moved closer, pulling him into me. No matter what Henry did to make himself seem tough, I knew he needed comfort more than anyone when he got upset.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd get upset. I promise you he was a friend and nothing more. I haven't seen him in years. We were really little when he left," I whispered. My fingers made their way through his hair, messing up the style. He didn't say anything in return, just relaxed further into my hold.

In the year that I've been dating Henry, I've learned a lot about him. My newfound powers helped break down his walls faster but he surely didn't mind. Henry was strong, for sure, but he had moments of insecurity more than usual. I would bet most of it was chalked up to the desire of wanting to be a good sidekick, friend, and boyfriend.

Words didn't need to be shared between us as I held him closely. My gaze drifted from the sky above me down to him. This boy made me so happy. Henry never failed to make me laugh or keep me down to earth. He reminded me of who I was. That's all I could ask for, yet he managed to go above and beyond every single day.

I was falling further for him each day and honestly, I didn't want to stop.

 ** _i totally forgot to update on this site, i'm so super sorry. i'll set a reminder to start doing it. here's chapter two!_**


	4. chapter three - bonding

_**song for the chapter - rock bottom by hailee steinfeld feat. dnce**_

If there was one thing that I had to have during summer, it was a snow cone. Eventually, my dad caught onto my small obsession and bought a good machine for our house so I didn't have to ask him to drive anymore. Since then, I've mastered the art of the perfect cone.

Jasper followed close behind me in our love for snow cones. He loved candy so it was only fate that he loved the sugary syrup that covered shaved ice. The two of us were the ones who tried the funky, fun flavors that nobody dared to touch. Countless times I've picked him up to go to the store for something new.

"Jasper, that looks absolutely disgusting." Char's eyes were wide as she looked at the oddly colored ice in Jasper's hand.

"Oh come on! It's a mix of coconut, strawberry, and lime!"

Although the mix tasted great, Charlotte wasn't wrong. The yellow lime color didn't blend well with the strawberry and it turned a yucky orange-yellowy color. Jasper didn't seem to mind though and continued munching away.

"Still looks gross," Piper jumped in. She was in an unusually good mood today and joined us outside. I'm surprised she hasn't screamed about the heat yet. I was boiling myself.

"You snooze, you lose," Jasper mumbled around the ice in his mouth.

Shaking my head at him, I leaned back against the tree behind me. Henry was up on one of the branches, his back against the trunk as well. At first, I was hesitant about letting him climb up but Piper reassured me that he climbed up there all the time. For him, I wasn't that surprised. Henry's getaways were always outside, in the open.

My phone went off with a notification beside me. I ate another chunk of my snow cone before picking it up. Sliding my finger across the screen, a text message displayed itself before me.

 _So I heard you're back to making snow cones?_

The sender didn't have a contact, making me confused. I had majority of our grade's numbers in my phone. Only a few people I didn't like weren't included. But this number, I had never seen before.

 _Um, I always make snow cones..._

 _Mind making me one? You should know my favorite flavor._

 _Mind telling me who you are? You should know I don't make snow cones for just anyone._

"Ouch, Joce."

My gaze shifted from my phone to the fence. Kayden pulled himself over the top, landing inches from Piper. The younger girl huffed and turned to me for an explanation.

"Jesus, Kayden. Next time, knock." I rolled my eyes at his behavior but standed to greet him anyway. Henry climbed down the tree, grabbing my hand in his as soon as I stepped back. His appearance was less tense than last time but you could tell he still meant business.

"So about that snow cone?" Kayden raised an eyebrow at me, a smirk on his face.

"Machine's at my house. I can walk over there if you want?"

"No! I mean uh, no not right now. We can do it later if he's still here," Henry interrupted. Shaking my head at him, I turned back to Kayden.

"He's right. I forgot it was at your house." Kayden smiled.

Charlotte sensed the tension and stood up. "How about we all go inside for a bit? It's getting hot anyway."

A few mumbled agreements sounded through our group. Piper stood up and followed Charlotte back into the house. Jasper was quick behind them, still eating the snow cone in his hand.

The awkwardness between the two boys and I was growing by the second. Deciding for myself, I tugged Henry with me and left Kayden to follow us. Forget girls being dramatic. Boys are worse.

Henry's house was organized, as always. Piper already escaped to her room, leaving the five of us alone. I took a seat at the counter, my feet dangling beneath me. Henry leaned across from me, a water bottle in his hand.

"So, Kayden," To my surprise, it was Jasper who broke the silence, "Why'd you move back to Swellview?"

Kayden shifted from foot to foot, "Mom got a new job opportunity. Her old department wanted her back and they raised her pay so she took it. It was kind of out of my hands. I'm glad we're back though, gives me more time to hang out with you guys."

Although I was glad Kayden was back, his comments needed to change. He was going to push us all overboard acting like we're all best friends. I haven't seen him in years, and I was glad to see him again, but we aren't the same people anymore.

"Hm, interesting." Jasper looked over Kayden curiously.

Suddenly, Henry's watch started beeping loudly, making us all jump. His eyes met mine before shifting to Charlotte and Jasper.

"What the heck is that doing?" Kayden walked towards my boyfriend, pulling his arm towards him.

Henry was quick to smack the oncoming hand away, "I uh, it's my timer for um..."

"For him to walk me home!" I jumped in. Henry was quick to agree, turning to Char and Jasper for help.

"Oh, I'll walk with you then. I should be heading home too." Kayden backed up from Henry a bit.

"You can't! We're going out for ice cream, and you know how much you hate third wheeling," I tried to get him out faster. I bit my cheek, hoping the kid would get a hint.

"Okay, fine. See you guys later." Kayden waved and walked out the door. There was a collective sigh that filled the living room from us, but it was soon replaced by pounding footsteps as we tried to get to Junk-N-Stuff as quickly as possible.

 _ **-**_  
 _ **kinda short but i promise i'll update early. the next chapter is my favorite and it's super long :))**_


	5. chapter four - inferno

_**song for the chapter - burn by ellie goulding**_

The ride down the elevator was something that took getting used to but eventually, it wasn't bad. It was almost calming if you closed your eyes.

Charlotte would disagree. No matter what, that girl hated the elevator with a burning passion. I couldn't blame her. At one point, it made me want to puke.

"Ray! What's the issue?" Henry was the first to step inside the Man Cave, his hand already holding a piece of gum.

Captain Man stood at the desk, all monitors trained on the same news channel. He turned to face us, his expression serious. "Fire in downtown Swellview. Jocelyn, we're going to need you."

I looked between him and Henry, confused. "Why me? I can't put out a fire."

Captain Man shook his head, "No, but you can manipulate anything you put your mind to. I might need to you move debris or keep the fire back. Schwoz didn't have anything to help us. So, I need you."

I glanced at Henry before facing Ray and nodding. He smiled before waving Charlotte over to help him. I reached in my pocket and pulled out the gum of my own. I quickly shoved a piece in my mouth and began chewing. Popping the bubble, I watched as a range of colors exploded before my eyes.

Unlike Ray and Henry, I stayed away from the blue and red outfit but still kept the Captain Man insignia with me. My outfit was completely black except for the logo on my right arm. In order to keep my face hidden, a mask, silver and black but just like Henry's, covered my eyes.

Beside me, Henry was already changed waiting. Captain Man finished his conversation with Charlotte before moving towards the tubes.

"Meet you guys upstairs!" I waved to the boys before walking back in the elevator and pressing the up button. There were only two tubes and quite honestly, I didn't want one.

Junk-N-Stuff was empty except for Jasper who stayed upstairs when we first got here.

"You going with them?" He looked up from the counter.

I nodded, "Captain Man wants me to. Not sure if I'll be much help."

Jasper smiled, "I'm sure you will. Go get 'em tiger."

I smiled back at him before running outside. The Man Van pulled in front of the store. Captain Man kept most of his stuff hidden away from Junk-N-Stuff, just in case anyone were to track him here.

Henry had taken shotgun so I was forced in the back, pinned between whatever clutter Ray was too lazy to clean up.

"Okay, Charlotte said it's better to divide and conquer so I think we should try that. Henry, use your hypermotility to get anyone out from the main level. I'll take Jocelyn with me to see if we can get to the basement. They said there was a meeting down there so there might be people inside still," Ray directed.

"I'm not indestructible so I hope you have an idea as to how I'm supposed to breathe?" I shoved my head between their seats. Henry's hypermotility gave him enough time to not have to worry about smoke inhalation but if I was walking in, that's another story.

"I've got that covered, don't worry. Just stay focused and keep in contact at all time, alright?"

Henry and I both nodded in response just as we pulled up to the site. I wasn't sure if this was a warehouse, office building, or whatever, but it surely wasn't going to be in use after this.

Red and orange flames flickered from all sides. Shattered glass covered the ground and people were everywhere. Firetrucks were scattered around, the first responders close at hand. As soon as we piled out, Captain Man was pulled away by a firefighter.

"We got most of the workers out in time. There's still a few trapped upstairs and possibly downstairs. The basement's unstable so that's the first priority." The man sounded exhausted already.

Captain Man was quick to direct Henry to head upstairs, leaving the rest to us.

"Yo, air, please!" I stopped before we walked inside, feeling the heat radiate off the building. I watched as my boyfriend flew past us multiple times, a range of people with him.

"Here," Ray handed a mask over. As I secured it around my face, he reached over and pressed a button, causing the mask to light up. "Schwoz made it. It filters the air. You should be okay with that. Just don't take it off."

With that, we stepped in. The raging inferno surrounded us, licking at our skin. Knowing Ray would be okay, I surrounded myself with an aurora shield, protecting myself from the flames.

"This way!" Ray's voice pulled my focus back as I followed his footsteps down the stairs. Smoke clouded my vision, causing me to blink profusely. The steps creaked beneath me, threatening to split apart at any second.

Ray kicked down the door that was separating the stairs from the room. It must've been locked or else they would've been able to get out earlier. It took my eyes a second to adjust to the darkness that the smoke caused.

"Jay, I need you to keep the smoke on the ceiling so I can see the damage!" Captain Man shouted. Since I didn't want a "superhero" name, I just went with Jay or J, the first letter of my name.

I did as he said, pushing a barrier around the smoke to get it away. A group of six or so people were huddled in the corner, all with their shirts pulled above their mouths. Captain Man quickly pushed them towards the door, helping a few along the way. Although there was no major damage, there was no safety until we were outside, away from this burning wreck.

Henry waited at the edge of the stairs, one of Schwoz's masks on his face. His uniform was covered in ash, turning it a darker color. As soon as everyone was out of the room, I dropped the barrier, watching as the smoke moved on its own.

"Jay, let's go!" Henry looked at me with wide eyes from above. Ray moved the rescued group outside, getting them to help. I ran up the stairs, wincing as the wood snapped beneath my feet. Flames flickered from the walls, attempting to scorch me.

Grabbing Henry's hand, I extended my protection to him, keeping us both safe from the fire. We started running towards the exit, hearing the building creak and groan under pressure. A beam overhead snapped, crashing into the ground with a loud bang. A scream escaped my lips as it hit, blocking our escape path.

"This way!" Henry pulled my arm, tugging us into another room. He pushed the window open before kicking the screen out. He moved to climb out, waving me with him. Just as I was about to climb out, an almost silent scream stopped me. It sounded like someone was crying.

"Joce, we have to go! What are you doing?" Henry looked at me from outside.

"There's someone still in here!" I shouted back, my gaze moving towards the hallway. Henry glanced between me and the firetrucks, debating his move. He groaned before climbing back in, pushing me towards the hallway. I surrounded us again, keeping the flames at bay.

 _"Kid Danger, Jay! Where are you guys?"_

Ray's voice cracked to life in our earpieces. I looked to Henry to respond, trying to focus on where the crying was coming from.

"There's more people trapped inside. We'll be out soon."

Henry's response was brief but good enough. I moved around fallen debris, pushing away chairs and desks with a flick of my wrist. A year ago, this would've been impossible for me but training paid off well.

I heard the scream again, this time from the right. Spinning, I was faced with a daycare room, all empty except a few fallen toys here in there. Luckily, this area hadn't caught fire yet but smoke covered every inch practically. Looking in closer, I saw two kids huddled in the corner, one boy and one girl.

"Kid Danger!" I shouted towards my boyfriend, pulling his attention to the sight. Both of us ran forward, the blue hue of my powers still surrounding us.

I kneeled down in front of the little girl, smiling at her. The best thing to do was to keep the kids calm and work this out. Ray knew we were in here if anything happens. Henry dropped beside me, facing the little boy.

"You're Kid Danger!" The little boy's face lit up, seeing a superhero in front of him.

Henry nodded, "Yeah, that's me. Did you guys get stuck in here?"

The little girl in front of me nodded, "We were playing hide and seek and the lady left without us."

"What's your name?" I tried my best to keep their mind off of the surroundings as I spread my protection to them too.

"I'm Lindsey and that's my brother, Jake." She pointed at the boy next to Henry before coughing loudly. I nodded, giving her a sad smile.

"Well, I'm Jay and that's Kid Danger, as you know. We're going to get you out of here, okay?"

She nodded in response, latching onto my arm. I pulled my mask off, slipping the band over her small pigtails. Henry did the same with his, pulling Jake into his arms. I picked Lindsey up, securing her on my hip. She couldn't be much older than four, her brother the same.

Without the help of Schwoz's mask, the smoke was quickly suffocating the oxygen that was left. It's a miracle these kids are still alive. I cleared my throat quietly, trying to keep to myself. I saw Henry look over at me, his face concerned.

Suddenly, a loud creaking caught our attention, stopping us in our tracks. Chunks of the ceiling were becoming a charred black, completely unstable. Pieces fell in a heap of dust and debris, blocking the only doorway.

We fell back in shock, landing painfully on the floor. I pulled Lindsey closer to me, scooting back into the middle of the room to keep away from the walls. The lack of oxygen was giving me a headache now, confusing my senses.

"Can you move it at all?" Henry sat shoulder to shoulder with me, Jake in his lap. I attempted to do as he said, focusing on the debris blocking our path.

I groaned in return, feeling the weight of the fire pushing back at me, "Not a chance. There's too much of it and I can barely keep my focus at this point."

Henry tried getting ahold of Ray, coughs breaking up his speech. My sight got blurry, the room spinning around me. Lindsey was shaking in my lap, one hand wrapped tightly in her brother's, the other on me. I leaned my head on Henry's shoulder, my eyes fluttering. My chest felt tight, making it quite an effort to force air into my lungs.

I heard a cracked response from Ray, something about finding our location. The speaker in the ear piece gave out, sending static through my ear. I yanked it out and tossed it into the wall. I coughed loudly, trying to cover my mouth with my hand.

Another load creak filled the room, pulling me back to reality. The ceiling tiles above us were turning darker by the second. Reacting quickly, I flipped over and pulled Lindsey beneath me, shielding her from any falling debris. Henry pulled Jake into him, covering the younger boy.

Dust and ash fell on top of us, clouding my vision once more. The flames were visible in this room now, moving in from the ceiling. Lindsey looked up at me worriedly but I couldn't stop coughing at this point.

"Jay, they-" Henry coughed loudly into his arm, his eyes glazing over, "They said they're coming."

I could only nod in response before my vision faded to black and I was left to hope we make it out of here _alive_.

 ** _leave a review and let me know what you're thinking/feeling!_**

 ** _also, make sure to favorite and follow so you know when i update :)_**


	6. chapter five - recovery

**okay this is absolutely the longest chapter I have written in a while. It's around 3300 words and I love every bit. Enjoy!**

 _ **song for the chapter - medicine by the 1975**_

 _"-Should be okay. They were without oxygen for a while. I promise I'll let you know if something changes."_

Heavy. That's how I felt. My bones felt like they were made of lead and don't even get me started on my headache.

I was completely exhausted. Every inch of me ached, from top to bottom. Breathing felt like a chore at this point.

 _"I'm positive. That's why I brought them here instead of anywhere else. They'll be okay."_

Moving slightly, I felt pressure on my face, by my cheeks and lips. Same with my arms and legs. Whatever happened after I passed out, wasn't good.

Blinking slowly, the bright lights above me burned my eyes. I took in a sharp breath, my hands coming up to cover them.

"Joce. Jocelyn, look at me."

Setting my hands down, I opened my eyes again to see Ray in front of me, his face still covered in ash here and there.

Checking my surroundings, I realized I was in a hospital room instead of the Man Cave like last time. Both Ray and I were out of uniform and back in the clothes we had on before the fire.

"I had to bring you guys here. It was too risky to go back to Junk-N-Stuff," Ray seemed to read my mind as I glanced around.

I opened my mouth to reply when I recognized the pressure from earlier. An oxygen mask had been secured over my mouth and nose, providing me with sweet, fresh air.

"You're okay. Henry, too." Ray nudged his head towards the other part of the room where I saw my boyfriend being monitored. Ray took the steps across the room to help me move the mask off.

"Am I even allowed to take this off?" My voice was hoarse and scratchy as I pulled the plastic off.

"Not for long. I'll get the doctor to see what they say. Here." Ray handed me a cup of water, watching as I gulped it down.

Our conversation was interrupted as the doctor herself walked in. She was a young woman with the prettiest hair I had ever seen. It was in long curls that fell down her back and shoulders. When she realized I was awake, she smiled at me.

"Miss Adams, nice to see you awake. I'm Doctor Aisha. I've been working with you and Mr. Hart the past hours."

She moved towards me, a thermometer in her hand. It was the fancy one that went across your forehead really fast.

Reading the numbers, she frowned briefly, "Hmm. Still not normal but getting there. How do you feel?"

I pursed my lips, "Honestly? Exhausted. I feel like I haven't slept in a week. And it hurts to breathe."

She nodded, her chocolate eyes zoning in on my face, "When you got here, we rushed you into ICU due to smoke inhalation. It was a battle from there to keep you away from carbon monoxide poisoning but luckily, we did. You've been a tough cookie. I do want to put you back on the oxygen though so let me get the nasal cannula instead of the mask."

I watched her walk across the room by some cabinets. I glanced at Ray, confused by the terminology, but he just shrugged in response. Dr. Aisha came back with the device. I breathed a sigh of relief when I realized it was just the small tubes that rest in your nose but still provide the oxygen.

"This way you can be comfortable and talk while you're up. Let me know if you need anything, okay?" She looped the tubes around my face and adjusted it so it fit right before turning the machine back on.

I thanked her and watched her leave before giggling. Ray looked at me confused.

"It tickles," I poked at the air supply, laughing again. He rolled his eyes at my actions. Grabbing the chair behind him, he pulled it forwards in between Henry and I.

"Are you going to keep acting like you're three or are you going to listen to what happened?" Ray looked up at me. Hiding my smile as best I could, I looked over, apologizing. I knew he was kidding but I still wanted to hear what happened.

"First, I'm not sure whether to be proud or smack both you and Henry for taking off your masks. The only reason those kids made it out alive was because of you guys. Doctor said if they had gotten oxygen any later, they would've been done for. So thanks to you both, there's two more Captain Man fans out there."

"I believe you mean Kid Danger fans," I objected, "You weren't even there, loser."

Ray rolled his eyes at me, "Yeah, okay sure. Whatever. Anyway, firefighters got most of the flames down but the smoke was out of our control. We got to you guys before the whole building came down. Jocelyn, you don't understand how worried I was when Henry stopped answering.

"You were completely unconscious when we got to you. Henry was almost with you and eventually passed out before we got out of the building. That, was something I never want to witness again. Both of you, unconscious at the end of a mission. Never again."

I looked down at my hands, picking at the edge of the bandages that covered my injuries. Hearing Ray retell the story almost makes it harder than living through it. I turned my gaze to Henry who was still sleeping.

"But, you did the right thing. Lindsey and Jake made it out okay, just a little shaken. They're on this floor somewhere. They wanted to bring them just in case. You can see them later, if you'd like. You'd have to change back into uniform though." Ray pulled out his phone to check the time.

"So why'd you bring us here? Besides risky."

Ray looked back over at me, "I knew that the doctors here knew more than I did when it came to stuff like this. Your virus was something they wouldn't have known. Smoke inhalation, they're familiar with. I just had Charlotte bring me the device that resets the effect of the gum so you'd be back in your normal clothes. I've been here since, waiting."

"Is that who you were talking to when I woke up?" I recalled the phone call when I was half asleep.

"Both Charlotte and Jasper. It's been about three hours since you guys got here so eventually, you're going to have to deal with your parents." Ray looked at Henry before going back to his phone. He stared at it for a second before sighing and clicking the off button. "Actually, are you okay if I go get food? I've been craving some chicken wings."

I leaned back into my pillows, a chuckle escaping my lips, "Go get your stupid chicken wings."

Ray cheered, jumping from his chair. He yelled a quick goodbye before running out the door, leaving it to slam shut behind him. I let out a breath unconsciously. Without Ray here, I could assess the physical damage without feeling awkward.

Pushing the blankets off, I pulled my legs to the side of the bed. A large white bandage was wrapped around my thigh, partially red in some spots. Another was laced around my arm tightly. I stood up, checking to see if I could walk over to Henry without pulling on my oxygen supply. Being careful of my steps, I climbed on the bed with my back to the door.

Most of his face was clear of ash from before. His hair was still gray here and there as I worked my fingers through the strands, smiling to myself. Even after a disaster, he managed to look amazing.

My peaceful moment was disrupted as the door was shoved open. I turned quickly, careful to not jostle Henry. To my shock, Kayden stood at the door, his mouth wide open. He ran forward and pulled me into his arms.

"You're okay!"

I winced at his grip but hugged him anyway, "How did you know I was here?"

He let go but kept me at arm's length, "Charlotte let it slip and I came as soon as possible. What happened?" Kayden's eyes glanced at Henry, where I was had resorted to drawing patterns on his arm.

"It's a long story. I'll tell you later." I kept my answer short to not reveal much. I wasn't sure what backstory Ray had given out and I didn't want to risk anything being exposed.

"Do you need anything? Water, food?" He stepped back from me.

I shook my head, "No, I'm okay for now. Um, actually do you think you could run to my house for me? And grab some stuff?"

Kayden was quick to agree and finally left with a list of things to bring back. After he was gone, I debated on going back to sleep but decided it could wait until later. I had things to ask and a boyfriend to take care of.

Regardless of what happened to myself, Henry was always a priority. Especially with the fact that it was my idea to go back inside and take our masks off. Henry would've done it in a heartbeat, I know, but I still felt bad.

I studied Henry's injuries, seeing many bandages like my own. He had a larger one wrapped around his chest and one on his shoulder, making me wonder what happened. He wasn't too cut up from what I last remember...

Climbing off the bed, I walked to the wall where there were two clipboards with our information on them. It stated the obvious things like our names, birthdays, weight, etc. The section I was looking for the most, the injury section.

 _Jocelyn Nicole Adams_

 _Age - 17_

 _Injuries found to date -_

 _Second degree burns located on left thigh and right bicep_

 _No internal bleeding_

 _Smoke inhalation - treated with provided oxygen_

 _Swelling in throat due to smoke - pain medication to be administered_

_Henry Thomas Hart_

 _Age - 17_

 _Injuries found to date -_

 _Second degree burns on upper left shoulder_

 _Checked for internal bleeding in chest due to injury_

 _Two broken ribs, both on right side_

 _Smoke inhalation - treated with provided oxygen_

"It happened after you passed out."

A sudden voice behind me made me jump. Turning, I saw Henry pull the oxygen mask from his face, wincing with every movement. I made my way towards him, grabbing a bottle of water from the counter. He took it and gulped it down quickly, tossing the empty bottle next to him.

"What happened?" I climbed back up next to him, a little more cautious than before.

He looked me over before answering, his hand coming up to push a piece of hair behind my ear, "Another piece of the ceiling fell. It was going to land..." He trailed off but his answer alone was enough to let me finish the thought.

"Henry-"

He shook his head, "I wasn't about to let that happen, okay? Never in my life. Regardless of the fact that it was you, I was doing my job. Protecting Lindsey became my responsibility as soon as you went unconscious. You were my responsibility from the start."

I blinked away tears, biting my lip to keep from trying. _He's such an idiot._

"Babe, look at me. Please."

I shook my head and kept my eyes away from his. Never in my life had I met someone like Henry. His words alone were enough to move me to tears. I couldn't ever make this up to him.

"Look. At. Me." Henry reached over and turned my face towards him. His thumbs reached up to wipe the tears from my cheeks, a small smile on his face. "Jocelyn, I'm okay."

I pulled his hands off my cheeks but kept them in my own, "Henry, you're in a hospital. With two broken ribs, second degree burns, and who knows what else. That's not okay."

"And where exactly are you? Which one of us is breathing through an oxygen machine? Which one of us sacrificed herself for two groups of people in a burning building? Surely not me. I might've gotten people out, but you protected random strangers, Ray, me, and those two kids. You, Jocelyn. You.

"You deserve credit too, you know. You always try not to, but you do. If you hadn't heard them crying, they wouldn't be here. If you hadn't used your powers to keep us safe, we would've been burned alive. You saved little kids, Joce. That's amazing. Yes, I'm hurting, but I'm alive. You're alive. Ray's alive, and those kids are alive. That's what matters. Injuries will fade but you can't bring someone back once they're gone."

Henry's speech lightened up the mood a tad, shedding some positivity into our mess of a situation. He was right. We're a team and we should have each other's backs. We saved those people and Lindsey and Jake. That's what was important.

"There's risks in everything, baby. Trust me. The Toddler might not be scary, but even fighting him comes with risks," Henry teased.

I laughed, wiping my remaining tears from my cheeks. Henry grabbed my hand, making me focus on him again.

"Everything's going to be okay, Joce. We're gonna be fine."

A moment of comfortable silence passed between us before the door was opened again, this time by Dr. Aisha. She smiled at the sight of us and walked in, the door sliding shut behind her.

"Mr. Hart, nice to see you awake. Everything okay?"

Henry looked at me and smiled before facing Dr. Aisha again, nodding, "Everything's fine."

Realizing my position, I quickly scrambled up to give her space to check on Henry. She shook her head at me, "No need to move, Jocelyn. I just need to check on a few things and then I'll be gone."

I took a step closer to Henry, smiling my thanks at her. She quickly took his temperature and pulse before switching him from the oxygen mask to the one like mine.

"Next time I come back in, we can take those off, okay? We just want to be sure your systems are cleared of smoke. Let me know if you need anything!" Dr. Aisha smiled at us and waved on her way out.

"She's super nice." Henry adjusted himself into a better sitting position.

"Agreed. She's super pretty, too." I looked over at the door, half expecting her to come back in. The door did open, but it wasn't Dr. Aisha that came back. Kayden walked through, a bag on his shoulder. He made eye contact with me and smiled.

"Well aren't you two a sight for sore eyes." Charlotte stepped in behind him, bags of food in her hands.

"Charlotte!" Moving forwards, I wrapped my arms around her, squishing the food between us.

"Hey, hey, hey! I'm glad to see you, but there's ketchup in these bags and I don't want tomato on my shirt," She shouted. I stepped back, grabbing a few bags from her hands. She set the remaining ones on the counter that was in the room.

Kayden tossed the bag on my bed before sitting next to it, "I went back to your house to get the stuff you wanted and found Charlotte along the way. We thought you guys would appreciate good food."

Pulling a fry from the bag, I shoved it in my mouth, loving every bit. "Wouldn't call this food _good_ in a nutritious way but definitely in taste." Grabbing one thing of chicken nuggets and a thing of fries plus ketchup, I walked back to Henry. He accepted the food, immediately throwing a chicken nugget in his mouth.

"So I'm guessing your ice cream date didn't go as planned?" Kayden looked between Henry and I.

I turned back to him, sitting on the edge of Henry's bed. "What ice cream?"

Charlotte tensed across from me, "You know, the ice cream you were going to get on your way home earlier? When Kayden wanted to join you?" She gritted out.

Catching on, I nodded quickly. "Oh! That ice cream. Yeah, it didn't go well obviously."

Charlotte reached into her back pocket and pulled out my phone, tossing it to me. I completely forgot I left it at work. Turning it on, I scrolled through the notifications. Most were from other social media but a text from my dad caught my eye.

 _Call you later, bug. Hope your day is going well._

Since it was summer and I was almost 18, Dad felt okay going on trips for just a week or so. He didn't go too far but my brother wanted to visit Ireland before going back to school so Dad agreed. They had been gone for four days and wouldn't be back for another two weeks as they were visiting some other places too. I didn't mind though. It was nice to be able to hang out with my friends.

 _Talk to you then. Have fun!_

"God those chicken wings were so good." Ray's voice filled the room as he walked back in, a groan of satisfaction leaving his mouth. "And there are more people here."

"Kayden, this is our boss, Ray. Ray, this is a friend of mine, Kayden. He brought Charlotte and food." I gave Ray a stern look as if to say I would explain later. He nodded slightly.

"Well, um, hi. I'm Ray. And those french fries smell really good." Ray practically jumped over to Charlotte, his hand grabbing the fries from her. She protested and smacked his hand away, tucking her fries away from reach.

"The cavalry is here!" Jasper practically screamed as he kicked the door open. Collectively, Ray, Charlotte, Henry, and I all shushed him. He whispered an apology and closed the door gently. He turned to Henry and I, nodding slightly. "You guys look awful."

Henry groaned, "Thanks dude. I think we know."

My phone started buzzing frantically in my hand, signalling an incoming call. Looking at the screen, a picture of me, my dad, and my brother stared back. I slid my finger across the screen, accepting the call.

"Hey dad!"

The room immediately quieted at my voice, conversations moved to whispering. I would've moved away so not to disturb them, but I couldn't really do much.

 _"Hey bug. How are you?"_

"Doing good. How's the trip been?" I picked at the end of my shorts, messing with the loose strings.

 _"Good babe, really good. I uh, I got a call from your boss that you'd been admitted to the hospital. Is everything okay? Do I need to come home?"_

Seriously, Ray? Seriously. "No, everything's fine. I promise. Just a close call downtown. Everything's good."

 _"Okay because we will cut this short, if you need us too."_

"No, we've got it handled. Stay there and have fun! Take a bunch of pictures too."

 _"Will do, bug. Alright I've gotta go. International calling is awful. I love you."_

"Love you too, Dad. Talk to you later."

I pulled the phone away, pressing the red button to end the call. I stared at my lockscreen, a picture of me, Henry, Jasper, and Charlotte. We had taken it at a park the other week, in front of the flowers we had planted with Ray. I was leaning into Henry, frozen in a laugh. Henry's hands were covered with dirt as he attempted to wipe it on me. Jasper was covered in dirt, a failed attempt on Charlotte's part. A lonely flower sat on his head, still in the container. Charlotte was on the ground with me, a hand-crafted flower crown on her head.

That was one of my favorite days. There was no stress, no arguments. It was all smiles and laughs. That's why I loved hanging out with this group. Everything was carefree, laid back, and fun.

 _This, was true happiness._


	7. chapter six - visiting

_**song for the chapter - just give me a reason by p!nk feat. nate ruess**_

The hours following the phone call from my dad were pretty boring. We talked some, slept, ate, talked some more, slept more, and ate even more. The hospital food was gross but Kayden repeatedly volunteered to keep getting some for us.

Finally, we were released with medicine and directions on how to take the next few days slowly. The burns were still wrapped under bandages but I was told they would heal in a few weeks with proper care.

I was glad to finally get out of the hospital room. The white walls were driving me crazy and there was absolutely nothing to do. Talking got boring after a while too. There was something about being trapped in my own house that I enjoyed more than a white room.

Currently, we were back at Junk-N-Stuff. Ray said Lindsey and Jake were still in the hospital and would most likely enjoy a visit from Kid Danger and Captain Man. Of course, I would tag along too. I was standing by the counter, leaning on it slightly. Jasper was behind it, sitting on a chair.

"You know, I never thought about trying a pineapple cinnamon snow cone." Jasper looked up at me expectantly. I scrunched my nose in disgust. I loved both pineapple and cinnamon but not together. "Too much?

"Most definitely. They're too sweet to go together. They're good separately but together," I stuck my tongue out for emphasis.

"You ready?" Henry walked out from the back, tucking his laser remote in its holder. I nodded in response, picking at my nails.

"I'm kind of excited to see them again." I smiled at him, my thoughts on the two cute kids.

"They're excited to see you guys. Their mom said that they will not stop talking about you two." Ray came out from behind Henry.

"Let's get going then."

Waving to Jasper, I followed Ray and Henry outside. The trip back to the hospital was quick. For some reason, I was jumpy. In the few minutes we were with Jake and Lindsey, I felt like we had become friends. I was nervous about seeing them again.

The automatic doors slid open in front of us, revealing the lobby. A desk sat in the center of the room with a guy behind it. He looked around 20. He didn't even bother looking up as we walked in, attention on the cell phone in his hand. For some reason, he looked familiar but neither Henry or Ray acknowledged anything so I let it drop.

Ray walked up and stood in front of him, waiting for a response. Even though we knew where Lindsey and Jake were, it would be suspicious to just walk in. Based off Ray's stance right now, he was about to walk in himself.

Ray tapped his fingers on the desk as if it would catch the guys attention. "Uh, hello?"

The kid merely held up a finger and continued playing his game. Ray looked back at us with wide eyes, his expression growing angry. I rolled my eyes at him before focusing back on the kid behind the desk.

We waiting another two minutes before I finally had enough. Walking forward, I put my hands on the counter, trying to keep my expression normal. "Yeah, hi. Can you get off your phone for a second?"

The kid glanced up at me before going back to his phone. He did a double take, eyes widening as he realized who was in front of him. I raised my eyebrows, slightly annoyed.

"Mhmm we know. Can you just tell us where Lindsey and Jake Hilton are please?" I crossed my arms.

The kid scrambled around the desk. I watched, bemused, as he tossed his phone and scattered papers everywhere. "Yes, um, sorry, so sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine, forget about it. Can we just have their room number please?" Henry moved forward to stand beside me. His actions startled the kid further as he frantically typed on the computer.

He reached over and grabbed a paper, writing the number on it before reaching to hand it to me. "Here. Um, just go down this hall and take a right until you see the elevator. Take that up and it should be on the left side."

Nodding, I took the paper from him. "Awesome, thanks Brady."

I had just noticed the name tag on his shirt and decided to at least seem somewhat polite. He smiled at me, cheeks turning a bright red color. I backed away from the desk and headed towards the hallway, Ray and Henry behind me. Looking back, I saw Brady groan and slam his head on the desk, earning a chuckle from me.

We followed the directions as best as we could and managed to find the correct room. Now the issue was the debate on who would go inside first. I voted Ray since he was the adult but Ray pushed Henry forward who in turn pushed me. After a minute of fighting, Henry was pushed towards the door. My reasoning being his was Jake's favorite and Ray said because he didn't want to.

Henry knocked lightly before pushing the door open. I stepped in behind him, Ray following. Whatever conversation had been in the room stopped instantly.

"Kid Danger!" Jake launched himself off the bed and into Henry's arms.

"Whoa, kiddo." Henry stumbled back a bit but managed to keep his hold on the younger boy.

"Jacob. Don't be rude." An older woman in the room stepped forward, a smile on her face. Lindsey was the spliting image of her, identical hair, eyes, and face. "Hi, I'm Janette, their mom. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Ray stepped forward, _that look_ on his face. And I'm pretty sure you all know what _look_ I'm talking about. It's the same one he gets every time he sees Mrs. Hart. "Well, the pleasure's all mine. I'm-"

"Captain Man!" Lindsey was next to jump towards Ray, a big smile on her face. Ray caught her gracefully, looking slightly annoyed that his conversation with Janette was interrupted.

"What she said. Now, how about we go get an adult snack while my sidekicks spend some time with your kids?" Ray handed Lindsey over to me, a flirty smirk still on his face.

Janette looked between me and Lindsey before biting her lip. "I don't know, I'm still kind of-"

"Mom! I wanna hang out with Kid Danger!" Jake gripped Henry's shoulder tightly, earning a wince from my boyfriend. He was quick to cover it back up with a smile.

"We'll take care of them, I promise," I reassured her. Not for Ray's sake, but for hers. She had been here day and night with them.

"Alright..but let me know if you need anything the moment you do, okay?" Henry and I both nodded in response. Ray looked ecstatic that Janette was actually agreeing. She quickly grabbed her purse and gave her kids hugs goodbye. "We'll be back up soon, I promise. Be good you two!"

Before Ray could pull Janette out the door, another man stepped in. Ray stopped in his tracks, confused. "Who's this?"

"Hey hun! I talked to your sister-" The man noticed Ray before his eyes moved towards Henry and I, "We have company?"

Janette moved forward, her hand clasping on to the man's arm gently, "James, this is Captain Man and his sidekicks. They're the one's who saved Jake and Lindsey." She smiled brightly at him.

"No, of course I know! It's a pleasure to meet you, sir. I'm James, Lindsey and Jake's father." James reached forward to shake Ray's hand, a bright smile on his face.

"Captain Man invited us to go grab a bite to eat while they watch the kids for a bit." Janette smiled at me.

James looked delighted at the invitation, pulling the door open for his wife. "Sounds great! We'll be back soon, kids!"

The duo walked out, leaving Ray to follow behind. He turned to look at us, an annoyed expression on his face, "Stupid marriage."

The door shut quietly behind him, leaving us in silence with Lindsey and Jake. I looked to Henry awkwardly. I had no clue what to say.

Henry took the step forward, placing Jake back on the bed. "How have you guys been?"

Lindsey twisted in my arms, trying to face Henry. "Bored. This stupid room is so boring!"

Laughing, I moved forward to set her down as well. "I understand that feeling. Believe me, we both do."

Jake looked at me curiously. "How come you guys didn't get hurt? Do you have the same powers as Captain Man?" He bounced up onto his knees.

Henry shook his head, "Not exactly, bud. We've got powers but they're not indestructibility. I've got hypermotility which is like super speed basically."

"I'm more of a psychic person. I can do a lot of stuff with my mind," I said. Lindsey moved closer to the head of the bed, grabbing a notebook from her pillow. She jumped back towards me, bouncing with the landing.

"Look! I found this book in the hallway earlier, it had your name on it." She reached her arm towards me, the notebook clutched tightly.

I grabbed the book from her, feeling the heavy weight in my hand. I hadn't seen this book in my life. But sure enough, _Jay - Captain Man's Sidekick_ was scribbled in the top corner. Fear set in. _What was in here..._

"Oh, uh, thanks Lindsey. I totally forgot about this." I tried to give a convincing smile but inside, I was panicking.

 _What is happening.._

After visiting with the kids for a little while longer, Henry and I headed back home. I was sitting on my bed, the journal in my lap. I don't know what was inside and quite honestly, I was scared to find out. Whoever was behind this was in the hospital near us, near the kids, and obviously, they knew we were coming.

The cover was a solid black with the spine of the book being gray. In silver marker, my name was written up top. The back cover was solid, no writing on it. Flipping the cover open, the first page of paper was filled with writing.

 _Glad to see you found this. I guess my plan worked out after all. Now, let me clear up some rules. I'm not going to tell you who I am, if that's what you hoped. I knew you'd be visiting those stupid kids sometime soon. I still wish they would've burned._

 _Ah, hint number one. I set the fire. Wonder why they couldn't find a cause? It was me. I needed to see if you could actually do what I thought you could. Your mother was a smart woman. I figured having her in the plan was a good choice. I was a bit shocked you got ahold of her though. She usually gets away._

 _Now, to business. Since your newfound powers seem to work better than I thought, you'll be working for me for now on. Of course, you won't know who I am but my letter should suffice in place. A new one will appear on the following page once you're done with task one. If you tell anyone, you'll pay. Don't fail me Jocelyn. There will be consequences, you can count on that._

"Everything okay?"

A scream left my lips as I slammed the journal shut. Charlotte stood in my doorway, a puzzled look on her face. I breathed a sigh of relief, burying my head in my hands.

"Yeah, sorry. You scared me." I looked back over at her.

She smirked in return, taking steps towards me. "I figured. What's that?"

I looked back at the journal in my lap, the threats lingering in my head, "Nothing. Just a journal Lindsey gave me at the hospital today. What's up?"

Charlotte plopped onto my bed, curling into herself a bit. Her hair was half up in a ponytail, the other half barely reaching her shoulders. She kept quiet, something unusual for Charlotte.

"Char? Everything okay?" I pushed the journal away, setting it on my nightstand. I readjusted myself so I was facing her, my hand on her knee.

"I um. This is weird. I don't even know... I think I have a crush on Jasper."

A gasp escaped my lips as my face lit up with a smile, "Char! This is great! Jasper's such a nice guy and he-"

"No, Jocelyn. You don't understand," She looked away from me, tightening her grip on her sides, "Jasper can't like me."

Waving off her insecurities, I tried my best to reassure her, "Charlotte, of course he can. You're so beautiful, super caring, not to mention you're a genius practically-"

"No, Jocelyn! Jasper can't like me because he likes _you_."

My breath caught in my throat, words escaping my mind, "He..but I...what?"

Charlotte sighed, rubbing her hands across her face, "We were in Junk-N-Stuff after you and the boys left to visit the kids, right? Well I had just gotten upstairs and I was going to see if he wanted to go out for pizza after work. I sit down and he goes 'You know Char, if Henry didn't have Jocelyn already, I think I would date her' and I had no idea what to say in return because it just _hurt._ "

I groaned, throwing my head back into the pillows behind me, "Not good. Not good at all. Maybe he was just speaking hypothetically and that doesn't mean he likes me?" I sat back upright, my eyebrows raised at the idea. Charlotte shrugged, looking away again.

I sighed and moved closer to her, "Charlotte, you can't just let this tear you down. You don't need a boyfriend to be happy. I promise you'll find someone when the time-"

"Just stop, Jocelyn! _You_ have Henry. You have everything set for you. There's plenty of guys who would throw themselves at you if, heaven forbid, something happened between you and Henry. It's not that easy for some of us, okay? I don't know the first thing about flirting or how I'm supposed to act on dates! That comes naturally for _you_. Not _me_."

I looked at my lap, not knowing what to say at Charlotte's rant. I never meant to make her feel below me, in any way. "Char-"

"No, look. Um. I've got stuff to do so I'll see you around, Jocelyn." She stood up and rushed out the door, leaving me to attempt to wrap my head around whatever just occurred.

I sighed for the millionth time that night and threw myself back into the pillows again. This wasn't good. This wasn't good for me, or Charlotte, or the team. This was Ray's biggest concern when Henry and I started dating. If something were to happen, we couldn't let our relationship get in front of our job. If this drama turned into a feud between all of us, it wasn't going to end well.


	8. chapter seven - first

_**song for the chapter - therapy by all time low**_

The next few days passed uneventfully for me. I hadn't had the chance to read further into the journal just yet, but I knew I was going to regret when I did. The threats lingered in the back of my head everyday but I couldn't risk telling someone.

"Joce, you good babe?"

Looking up, my eyes met Henry's as he walked across the room to me. Shaking my head, I curled into the couch further.

"I'll be fine, don't worry about it." I pulled my phone towards me, attempting to clear my mind a bit. Henry sat next to me, pulling my legs across his own so I was practically in his lap.

Ignoring my boyfriend's actions, I continued scrolling through my notifications. My heart stopped at a message.

 _From: Unknown_

 _Read the journal. You're running out of time, Jocelyn._

I quickly shut my phone off, tossing it back on the table, "Well, that's not going to work either." With a sigh, I placed my head on Henry's shoulder.

He smiled softly at me as his hand ran across my back soothingly. "I'm guessing you don't want to talk?"

I shook my head again, eyes closing. Physically, I was fine. Emotionally, not so much. I felt Henry's hand trace a scar on my arm, tickling the skin slightly. At this point, I was willing to do anything to stop thinking about that stupid journal.

"What's it from?" He asked softly, fingers moving gently.

"Seventh grade." My answer was simple and short.

"What happened?"

"Mitch shoved me into the wall and I tripped and fell down the stairs. Broke my arm and needed surgery." I kept my eyes closed, not bothering to look at him. I felt his fingers grip my arm before his soft lips replaced them.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help."

Opening my eyes, I grabbed his hand in my own, tracing my thumb over his knuckles, "You need to stop being sorry for things you couldn't stop."

He sighed and kissed my forehead, "Yeah princess, I know. Doesn't mean I'll stop though."

A hissing sound filled the room as Ray walked out from behind the secret door, eyes immediately focusing on Henry and I, "What did I tell you guys about being all couple-y at work?"

Henry rolled his eyes, "Well we can't really do anything since we're _grounded from patrol_ ," He made sure to glare at Ray, "So you're going to have to deal with it for now."

Ray waved his sidekick off, moving to grab popcorn out of the bowl from earlier. Nudging Henry, I moved my head towards Ray, a smirk on my lips. Focusing on the bowl, I jerked my hand slightly and watched as it moved away from Ray's grip.

Our boss looked at the bowl strangely before reaching again. I moved my hand further, chuckling at his annoyed expression. He groaned and turned towards me, eyebrows raised, "Really, Joce?"

I shrugged, "Really, Ray."

He gave up on the popcorn bowl and walked towards the tubes, "You two are being mean so I'm going on patrol."

Henry rolled his eyes again, shrugging off the attempted blow at the situation, "Have fun, Captain Man!"

Ray shoved a gumball in his mouth and chewed it loudly for emphasis before climbing into the tubes and leaving. A comfortable silence filled the room for Henry and I.

"Alright love," Henry slowly pushed my legs off his and nudged me slightly, "I need to be getting home for dinner. Do you want to join?"

I shook my head and climbed off the couch, "Not today. I didn't sleep much last night so I'm going to attempt to get some extra if I can."

Henry nodded and tossed me my jacket, "Well, if you need me, just call. I'll be there in a heartbeat."

I sighed and wrapped myself in his arms, my head on his chest. "Thanks, Hen."

"Anything for you, princess."

Just like the previous night, I found myself tangled up in blankets with the journal on my lap. A cup of hot chocolate was next to me as a reinforcement to just get this over with. I was too scared to find out what was inside but, I couldn't take the risks. I pulled the cover open, reading the first page over before finally moving towards the second one.

 _I see you've accepted it, Jocelyn. Let's get this started then._

 _I'll tell you something, you do it. It's that simple. If not, I know where to make it hurt. First task is quite simple. Take off work tomorrow. That's all you have to do. You can hang out with everyone else or whatever you'd like but no work, no superhero. You'll get your next task tomorrow._

I flipped to the next page, only to receive a blank one in return. Sighing, I shoved the journal under my pillow. Tomorrow's task wouldn't be hard but it would raise Ray's suspicion a bit. I hadn't taken a day off work since I became part of the team. I had a feeling that this was only the beginning though.

Deciding to head to sleep, I yanked my shirt over my head leaving me in a sports bra and sweatpants. Summer at my house meant open windows and fans. Rarely did the air condition come on but I guess it was always there. The crickets outside always calmed me down and helped me sleep. The only thing better than that, or rain, was Henry. Speaking of Henry, I decided to text him, Jasper, and Charlotte about tomorrow before I forgot.

hey guys. i don't think i'll be at work tomorrow. not feeling too fabulous. can you pass it on to ray?

 _sure thing, joce! feel better!_

 **dang. no snow cones then. see you later, J!**

Charlotte and Jasper were quick to respond but Henry didn't. I figured he would be asleep at this time anyway. Or not, who knew. I hadn't spent a day with him in a while. We were overdue for a group sleepover and I desperately needed to talk everything out with Charlotte in regards to Jasper.

 _ **everything okay, princess? i'll stop by tomorrow if i can.**_

The journal said I could hang out but no work so I responded to Henry's message with an okay. It was just keeping quiet and careful from here on out. Let's hope it'll work.


	9. chapter eight - surprises

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto; text-align: center;" data-p-id="a8507aaa52ca87d77eb2fd0c25e85881"span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"song for the chapter -span class="Apple-converted-space" /span/em/spanspan style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"unconditionally by katy perry/em/span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="57c006ea8628c7f080e841f7a5140260""Jocelyn, hurry up!"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="891201af2df150779186e8b26e962132"I huffed and shoved my backpack on before moving back towards the Man Cave. A couple weeks had gone by since I called in sick, each task being a little more difficult but nothing large. My most recent one was to go to the ceremony for a CEO at Luscious and Company, a clothing line. Luckily, it turned out that Ray was planning on attending anyway for another undercover class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="2fa58b058387045e319f4890428c14c8""Okay, what's the plan?" Charlotte threw her bags on the table before sitting on the couch./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="aecaa0894c0d9475f8eff0e4e7acad23""We're going to the ceremony for the CEO of Luscious and Company. They're releasing a new clothing line under a new director. The director's son is who we're after. He's been in on multiple charges of breaking and entering plus harassment. He thinks this party is going to be a chance for a new victim so it's our job to make sure that doesn't happen." Ray pulled up pictures of who we were class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="15d9e858646efb665de35970bd7e3740"Jasper slammed his hand on the table. "Does this mean free food?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="c25c2953a964c554d16ee981d2d46852"Henry was right behind his friend, his hand hitting the table. "I second that question."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="803a84eb5b701a6e510eae3c7356e7ef"Rolling my eyes at the two boys, I dropped my backpack by my feet. Something tells me this is going to take a class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="2b5f4d2fc611a4c8c3a5f12d052aae49""Is food all you boys care about?" Ray glared at the two teens who were quick to reciprocate, "Okay yeah, me too."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="281c655d5ff045998c10db3e009481e3""Yeah? Well nobody's going to get food until we knowspan class="Apple-converted-space" /spanem style="box-sizing: border-box;"what the plan is./em" Charlotte class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="a8f752a2d51940eefdac507af3e78889"Ray gave her a look before continuing, "Here's the plan. It's a fashion company so obviously it has to be elaborate clothing. You four are going to dress the part and head into the party while I scope out the upstairs. We tell each other when we find the kid. Then, it has to be either Charlotte or Jocelyn that lures him upstairs where we catch him."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="0be7f8093bc8db4f059b476852c4f140"Reviewing it all to myself, I nodded in agreement. "Doesn't sound too bad."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="3801be600044596265074995cc51230e"Ray handed out the earpieces before grabbing his stuff and leading us upstairs. Charlotte walked alongside me looking quite class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="d7c29f36e22edc02ffef16c771db428f""You look ready for this." I smiled at her. All of the drama with the boys was behind us now and we were finally okay. I told her I would work on the Jasper issue as a mediator between the two./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="8d0e9dd5c84baf038dd3d937fa1819ee""I'mspan class="Apple-converted-space" /spanem style="box-sizing: border-box;"so/emspan class="Apple-converted-space" /spanready for this. These are my favorite missions!" She shoved her bag into the trunk of the car and waited for me before climbing into a class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="f6675ed09a8286a0b5d1a2098c2b36b7""Agreed. This one is somewhat easy too. I can't wait to dress up." She pulled her seatbelt across her lap as Ray turned the car on. The two of us were in the far back with the boys in the middle two seats. Ray was upfront by class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="d7a8f84dc1c657f35708c44eff8cd5d4"Since it was a nicer event, we rented a shiny SUV and were staying at a hotel close by the event. Charlotte and I had a room together just like Henry and Jasper where Ray got one for himself. As far as our parents knew, our boss was taking us out for a camping trip and we'd be back in a few days./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="a3581fc2fddf13459b7eb6fcd896d1a2"The drive was quick and before I knew it, Charlotte and I were pulling our stuff into the hotel room. I shoved my suitcase on the bed before collapsing next to class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="990687cddffca0522051742d66efef88""Oh come on, lazy butt. This is gonna be fun!" Charlotte tugged on my hand, her face bright with a smile./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="8d4e0e7534254d0998b2fee20ca39a0f"I groaned and sat up, watching her jump up and down on her bed. For someone as stubborn and reserved as Charlotte, I did not expect her to be this excited. Granted, I was excited too but we still had a job to class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="ea5cf7be37d9a260d546ff07016f738d"I stood up and walked to my bag, pulling out the iPad that Schwoz had given me. After a while of persuading, he finally gave Charlotte and I the automated closets. He outdid himself and managed to compress it into just the iPad which would spit out a thing of gum. It was my favorite thing ever./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="1e6f7c555c9b02ff2be052ea95f78d0a"I turned it on and began swiping through the outfits. I brought my own clothing but I didn't have anything nearly fancy enough for tonight. The dresses on here would have to class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="b260c9077b0e0b8261dbf75ac9178ac3"Being 17, I still wanted to look good and show off a bit. Henry and Jasper would no doubt wear tuxes (which I'm not complaining because Henry in a suit is a gift) so Charlotte and I needed to at least match class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="069ffc59804c69a0b78bcfd94bb923a0""Char, what do you think about this one?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="4c761f170e016836ff84498202b99827"~/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="a26064941e54a0b7c68cb9c0ba8996fd"Two hours later, both Charlotte and I looked like we could make every guy in the room drop dead. This, was what I loved. The feeling of being on top of the class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="ebd5ac8e8bcddfa8ef0c8d6d39622e5c""Jocelyn, Charlotte? Are you guys-" Henry and Jasper stood by the open doorway as Charlotte and I walked out. Henry let out a low whistle, eyes looking me up and down. Jasper's mouth dropped open in what I hoped was good class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="1de819f7cf26ba755aad3239d222c5b9"I walked towards Henry and patted him on the chest. "Eyes up here, babe." I walked past him, Charlotte right behind class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="8a60fc7fb04159c44d1a0316a6efb075"I ended up choosing a dark two piece dress with lace sleeves. I managed to hide some weapons under the skirt so that was a plus. My hair fell around my shoulders, hiding the earpiece from view. Black laced heels covered my feet and the rest of my jewelry and makeup completed the look./p  
p class="fixed-ratio" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px; position: relative; height: 0px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 0px 600.953px; text-align: center; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-media-type="image" data-image-layout="one-horizontal" data-p-id="a49d47a8f759a15abec0fded526ddb64" /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="a5a1119d5fa971efa8375eb3c75101f4"Charlotte chose a deep red dress with black heels. Her hair was styled perfectly and framed her face. A diamond choker was around her neck and silver bracelets covered her wrists. A cute earring cuff was placed in her ear and a ring on her finger finished off the outfit. If we wanted to get this guy, we needed to get him good./p  
p class="fixed-ratio" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 30px 0px; position: relative; height: 0px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px 0px 609.594px; text-align: center; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-media-type="image" data-image-layout="one-horizontal" data-p-id="240634a3862629d7e7763d04aa6ad77c" /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="b0c6f4f161c38a703d94498e136d507f"The boys, as predicted, were wearing suits. The earpieces couldn't be hidden but if the lighting was dark, they'd be fine. Ray met us outside by the car, his nose deep in his class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="ac4607f78fdfaa0abc0eb842d7d86a9c""Yo, Ray!" Henry's hand laced with mine as he lead me towards the car. After a narrowly avoided accident, he slowed down so I wouldn't trip in my class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="31679eec53803f554fa9a5f57caba4e6""Wow, I didn't know you guys could look that nice." Ray looked the group class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="08a6ff5d9391f534cc1c02689c457d05""You know, I'm going to take that as a compliment." Charlotte pushed past us to climb in the car. Henry and Jasper followed behind her, leaving me to sit next to Charlotte in the middle row of seats./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="598980aafffc65b4179df264fbb97de5""Time to kick some grem style="box-sizing: border-box;"ass/em," Jasper chuckled behind me, cracking his knuckles for class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="63ca873756b4f38007b5ba38a44342bf""With lines like that, you're going to get us killed."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="0bfc9199ccaf0b912fd850dd3cb28c0d"~/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="4be76f16580932f426582e4807e76ac1"Music was loud and bodies hit me from all sides as I attempted to keep up with Charlotte. Jasper was right next to me, laughing at people's hair and makeup. Ray had split from us as soon as we walked in. I didn't expect there to be this many people./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="26689a8afc335b21f86040420b30bd01"We finally found a booth to sit in that was somewhat away from the chaos. I hummed along to the song quietly, my eyes scanning the crowd for the kid we were here for. This was going to be a lengthy mission, that's for class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="bcaceea6e99d94ba26ee900a8f05b03f""This is going to take a while," Henry huffed next to me./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="737538f7b8166c6424b57e479c9e359f""Our best bet is probably dancing out there somehow. We'll cover more ground than sitting here all night. Plus, I'm already bored." Charlotte smiled. Nodding in agreement, I pulled Henry up before winking at Charlotte as Jasper escorted her to the floor./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="e6a2061de40341fa9750c59031f5d82e"Once Henry and I found a spot amidst the crowd, I situated my hands around his neck as a slow song came on. I recognized the tune asspan class="Apple-converted-space" /spanem style="box-sizing: border-box;"Perfectspan class="Apple-converted-space" /span/emby Ed Sheeran. I looked from face to face as Henry and I swayed along to the music./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="553e8a144ae92b378c34cd0e2144630f""We're going to have to cross boundaries we've never crossed before, you know that?" Henry gripped my waist a little tighter as he looked past me./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="40ebde3744064ab20684ffe52ee873a3"I sighed, my eyes focusing on a group ahead of us, "Sadly, yes. But I'm ready for it. Anything to stop the bad guys, right?" I looked back up at Henry, a small grin on my face./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="9b6a6da2559c9415db534e0b83cd9a63"He leaned forward, his lips meeting mine briefly before we parted, "Always. Be careful, okay? You've got us all on the ear pieces so don't be afraid to get help." I nodded along with his plan. Sure, we were all close together, but it took less than five minutes for one of us to be pulled away./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="5846a019c7668874bede784ad238b1c0"The music changed to another upbeat song as I released Henry from my grip. I spotted Charlotte and Jasper in the crowd just as Jasper leaned down to kiss her on the cheek. A small squeal left my lips as I raced towards her, Henry right behind me. I pulled Charlotte aside, separating us from the boys./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="520dd469381b03baa26198727619c01e""Charlotte! This is so great!"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="4d49145cdd2065ebaf9fb69d771bd773"She blushed a deep red, her hand coming up to her cheek, "I don't even know why he did it but I'm not complaining."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="e5f10c8dc9fa5042f0cf8977ca5c201c"As Charlotte continued gushing about how amazed she was by Jasper, I spotted a familiar brown haired boy making his way across the room. My breath caught in my throat causing Charlotte to quiet immediately./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="51c15621d54995010a5c15739737d1aa""What? What's wrong?" She looked in the direction I was, trying to find what I did./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="a08101d92ab1b5015fdb83acb5f8b596"My hand moved to my ear, pressing the button that turned on my microphone, "Um. Issue. Big one."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="6b34c9510f0beba06d01aadb22962961"Ray's voice cracked to life first, "What's up?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="d587739229e3a8e15dca1c68f4e43d2d"em style="box-sizing: border-box;""Kayden's here."/em/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="c664c193f9e2343432865483fcf3c1bd""Are you kidding me?" Henry practically growled into the communicator./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="a76af915dbb15009c312ddc25bad1c91""Just do your best to stay away from him, Joce. If he sees you, he sees you, but avoid the drama if necessary," Ray directed./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="58dda524277207cdfca76f66f67a8bb4"Charlotte's eyes widened as she finally locked her eyes on my subject. I looked away towards the ground as I agreed with Ray's statement. The current song ended and another one started, earning a cheer from the crowd. For how fancy this party was, the music sparked a whole different group of people than I class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="376a2ad6472e2ff24f3e695960f7be24"I felt a tap on my shoulder causing me to turn around. A boy stood behind me, his blue eyes scanning my face. He was dressed the same as Henry and Jasper, hands tucked in his pockets./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="92199061b15f964c2b7ccd61440b2478""Uh hi." I turned to face him fully, my dress twisting with the sudden movement./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="9528a88c1ec355dd292f20a7b86acab8""Hey. My name's Ryan. I just saw you standing here and wanted to know if you'd care to dance with me," He asked./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="a2d73485ce3f584b2d82f2acc2b8cde2""I um-" My response was cut off by Henry confirming this was the kid we were after, "I'd love to."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="c968e6e61908596b73e183e3b90671f7"Charlotte watched me carefully as the boy pulled me out on the floor. His arms started to wrap around my waist before I took a step back./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="343e398a755060de0cf1335083ed985f""Not a big fan of being close. Mind if we do this?" I put his one hand on my waist before grabbing the other in my own. I already felt disgusted for dancing with this kid while Henry was watching. I felt disgusted for dancing with this kid while Henry and I were togetherspan class="Apple-converted-space" /spanem style="box-sizing: border-box;"period/em./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="de233b118a8cc2fdada3fa175d114c6a""Not a problem at all, anything to dance with a beautiful girl." He winked at class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="cf34b6d9a41790eb64ba7157311afce9"The music continued as we glided along. I tried to keep a civilized conversation at least. I couldn't tell him I had a boyfriend for the sake of keeping him in sight of the team. When the song ended, he let go of my waist but didn't drop my hand./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="3bf7e38f4291122c6af68e2a5d367ccf""How about we take this somewhere a bit quieter?" His lips were close to my neck, heating the spot with his breath. I nodded in response before turning to give Charlotte a curt nod. She reciprocated the action before going to grab Henry and Jasper./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="bd4c9646c4adb5cfc65a148c463b8e43"Ryan pulled me through the crowd while greeting some people along the way. We turned another corner which led to a set of stairs. Right as we started walking up, someone shoulder-checked Ryan. He quickly turned around, anger clouding his features. Once he realized who it was the anger vanished and was replaced with annoyance./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="b75a1b892da2c45d7f10edd37c76c887""Kayden, lay off dude."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="7f909e78c8a2b74ad5b02406f260da93""Chill, bro. I'm just messing with ya. Who you got there?" I could imagine the smirk on his face as he motioned towards me. I looked up from the ground, my hair no longer hiding my face, "Whoa, Jocelyn? What the hell, man?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="25ad305d723c2eab26ba6d6983db14cd"Ryan's face flickered between me and Kayden, confusion all over. His stance changed however as I noticed Henry and Jasper making their way up the stairs. Ryan was quick to grab my wrist and Kayden's before yanking us up the stairs and into a private room./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="5247be34a5843c858b513cb609837127"The door slammed shut behind Ryan and was quickly locked. I sat on the edge of the table that was in the room. It looked like a meeting room with the large table and mass of chairs around it. Kayden stood a few feet away with his gaze on the ground. The kid I had grown up with looked nothing like this kid. His hair was styled perfectly, fitting his attire even more. His jawline was prominent and I could see his crystal blue eyes from miles away. He changed./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="470e06592798777f327d03f0c524b7da""How do you two know each other?" Ryan leaned against the door, eyes switching between me and Kayden./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="7d1280ac9af43518ff92968fcbe6f4a9""em style="box-sizing: border-box;"That'sspan class="Apple-converted-space" /span/emJocelyn. Jocelyn Adams. The girl who we lived next to forever, the girlspan class="Apple-converted-space" /spanem style="box-sizing: border-box;"youspan class="Apple-converted-space" /span/emneed." Kayden motioned towards me./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="96bb70c86909571984bafe50fb372a61""Wait, what?" My posture stiffened. Instinctively, my hand landed on my thigh where a stun-gun was strapped, "Who are you?"/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="a29aded788d8a01c41dc0eb8ac416526""That's Kyle. My older brother."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="10a6564578b206e532cb3966f483b7e3"With the mention of his name, I remembered everything. The picnics, the movie marathons, the reason Kaydenspan class="Apple-converted-space" /spanem style="box-sizing: border-box;"reallyspan class="Apple-converted-space" /span/emmoved. My hand moved up to my earpiece, unnoticed by the two boys as I attempted to make it look like I was fixing my hair./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="5638552b36d70653cb4da43abcb62dc2""You're the one writing the journal. You were at the hospital desk when we went to visit Jake and class="Apple-converted-space" /spanem style="box-sizing: border-box;"That'sspan class="Apple-converted-space" /span/emhow she got ahold of it. You're also the son of the CEO. That's why you wanted me here tonight." I released the button on the earpiece slightly before getting off the table and stepping back towards the wall./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="1066f23ea6cedbceef70c5cf21885a93""Bingo. It took you long enough. Your mom said you were smart, Jocelyn. I figured you would've paid attention. Although, you look nothing like you used to." Kyle aka Ryan smirked at my tense figure./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="d93c6459e7e3609c18a2f4c8c3e0a0f0""What do you want with me?" I gripped the weapon tighter as I heard Charlotte tell me they were on their way class="Apple-converted-space" /span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="2d52cc18d863b367874c318cbbdda9c2""You? You're the pawn. Those letters are going tospan class="Apple-converted-space" /spanem style="box-sizing: border-box;"keepspan class="Apple-converted-space" /span/emcoming and if you say anything, I will make the consequences worse than you can imagine. I know your friends are right outside that door. If you tell them, it's all over. Everyone you associate with; Jasper, Charlotte,span class="Apple-converted-space" /spanem style="box-sizing: border-box;"Henry/em, they'll all fall to me./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="8821769aa8b8f98754b5b09fdfa0bc6e""You're going to go out there and tell your friends that you were wrong on who I was. You say nothing about this conversation and you go home as soon as you can. You can continue to hang out with your friends until my letters say otherwise. If I find that youspan class="Apple-converted-space" /spanem style="box-sizing: border-box;"saidspan class="Apple-converted-space" /span/emanything, that'll be the end."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="d82bc93853e86933adecaa26daf5e64d"Kyle's hand wrapped around my wrist and tugged my hand away from the stun-gun. At that exact moment, my friends started banging on the door and yelling my name. Kyle pulled me off the wall and pushed me towards the door as my wrist throbbed from his grip. He gave me one last glare before pulling Kayden up and out the other door that led to another room./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="a31c7b7e6e38a9c1ae285553d9d5ffa8"I opened the door, causing Henry to fall on the ground from leaning against it. Charlotte was right behind my boyfriend, Jasper next to her. Ray was in the back, eyes scanning the room unconsciously./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="3fc3290342fec5dd8eca876c145dc6dc""You okay?" I bent down and offered Henry my hand. He took it gratefully and regained his footing before looking me over./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="fe3f8962118c7e266f4b580dd4947826""I think the question is, are you okay?" His hands grabbed mine and pulled me closer./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="865c8cb3fef476a948f68a58ead0cd40""Yeah, I'm fine. I thought that was the kid but it definitely wasn't. He was too dumb to pick up on anything. That's Kayden's brother, Kyle." I pushed Henry off, feeling disgusted in myself for how I had acted tonight with Kyle./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="ad518fd935b2ec5aa10982efbe1c88fe""Are you sure that wasn't him? What about the stuff you said on the earpieces?" Jasper looked over at me./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="fd24f013127eaadd1533ddb0b8138bf6""Not him. I thought it was but he said he knew absolutely nothing about Jake and Lindsey and he definitely didn't know about the CEO thing. We'll just have to keep looking," I shrugged. Charlotte gave me a pointed look. It was going to be the hardest to keep this from her. She was very observant, sometimesspan class="Apple-converted-space" /spanem style="box-sizing: border-box;"toospan class="Apple-converted-space" /span/emobservant./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="567ca275259c0f1b39bdbfcd368e47ec"All I could do now was try to lead them away from Kyle and whatever he was planning./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-size-adjust: auto;" data-p-id="cfab1ba8c67c7c838db98d666f02a132"-/p 


	10. chapter nine - difficult

_**song for the chapter - mercy (acoustic) by shawn mendes**_

My room never seemed more safe than it did now. My mind was racing after the encounter with Kyle. Knowing he was a few doors down kept my anxiety up and ever present. He had caused enough trouble for me in the past and now, who knows what he would do.

The journal was clutched tightly in my hands as I opened it to the next page. I wasn't sure what Kyle needed me for. I could barely keep myself together, let alone do anything for anyone else.

 _Jocelyn,_

 _Congrats on keeping your mouth shut. I'm surprised, honestly, that you did. Your friends are a bit suspicious though and that's a problem. You know how we deal with problems here._

 _First, I know you remembered everything. I guess my stupid fifteen year old self wasn't as good as he thought he was when it came to science. It's a shame. I could've finished this plan much easier if you still didn't know who I was._

 _Second, I know you lied to your friends about who I was. You didn't know better. So keep it that way. Any word to them about what happened in the past, and you're done._

 _Now, to deal with our problem. Your friends are suspicious of what you're hiding, Jocelyn. So, we lead them away from the issue. Break up with Henry and quit your job. Then, they won't be around. Simple as that._

 _Don't fail, Jocelyn._

The journal fell from my hands and onto the bed with a soft _plop_. No. There was no way I was going to break up with Henry because Kyle said so. I can lead them away from the problem. It's a better shot than me _leaving._ I opened the book again, rereading the page. A new sentence was at the bottom of the page.

 _P.S. No other options, Joce. You already failed to cover your tracks from Charlotte. She's caught on._

I slammed the cover shut and chucked the book far from me. Pulling my knees to my chest, I fought back tears. I couldn't quit my job and lose Ray's trust. I could kiss that job goodbye. But if it kept them safe...

Grabbing my phone from my nightstand, I slid my finger across the screen to unlock the device. I paused and sighed before clicking on the messages app. Henry's name was up top with a few emojis following it plus an unread message.

 _Hi love. I miss you and can't wait to see your cute face tomorrow for our ice cream date. I think Jasper is bringing Charlotte along so it's turned into a double date :)_

I wiped a tear from my cheek before attempting to send back a half-happy message. Tomorrow was going to be awful and I didn't want to live through it. Locking my phone, I tossed it back on the nightstand before shutting the lights off. I buried myself in pillows, hoping to find some comfort in them.

 _I was about to lose the best thing that's ever happened to me._

Ice cream usually made me super happy. For obvious reasons, the cup in my hand did nothing but make me nervous. Charlotte sat next to me with Jasper and Henry across from us. My appetite was absolute gone. Instead, it was replaced with butterflies, preventing me from enjoying any of this day.

"Jocelyn? Everything okay?" Henry smiled at me, his eyes full of concern.

Forcing a nod, I smiled back, "Yeah. Do you think we could go on a walk?"

Henry glanced at Jasper and Charlotte before nodding. We both stood and threw our cups in the garbage before stepping on the path that went around the park.

"What's up? You always eat your ice cream." Henry shoved his hands in his pockets and looked over at me.

I shook my head slightly, "Just not feeling it today. Didn't sleep much last night."

Henry looked back towards the ground, "Gotcha. Anything I can help with?"

"Nope. Nothing's wrong right now. I'm okay." I focused my eyes on the people around me, watching a puppy chase after a frisbee.

Henry's hand grabbed mine as he pulled me to a stop, "Jocelyn. Is there something you need to tell me?"

I pulled my hand from his and let out a sigh, "Actually, Henry. There is. I um... I've been thinking and I think it would be best if we weren't together anymore."

"What? Jocelyn, did I do something wrong? We can fix this!"

Henry reached for me but I stepped back. My throat tightened as I started to speak again, "No, no. You're fine. I just don't have room in my life right now and it's getting out of hand. You're weighing me down."

I saw Henry pull his hand back, his mouth snapping shut. He took a step back from me with wide eyes. "Um...I should go."

With that, Henry took off running. Jasper and Charlotte tried to get his attention as he flew past but failed. I saw Jasper take off after his best friend before Charlotte turned to me, her eyes narrowing in a glare.

I never hated myself more than I did in that moment.

Every ounce of me hoped Henry didn't go running to Ray as I stepped into the elevator. I already wanted to burst into tears but I had to get this over with and I'd be fine. I could deal with Kyle on my own.

What I didn't expect was for Ray to be waiting for me the moment I stepped into the Man Cave. He looked fairly angry and I could only hope it wasn't towards me. I opened my mouth to start but Ray beat me to it.

"Why did you break up with Henry?" He crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'll tell you why." Charlotte's voice took over before mine could. I flipped around to see her standing behind me, a smoothie clutched tightly in her hand. "Because he was _weighing her down_ and she didn't _have room in her life_ for him."

Even though she had everything right, I felt my heart clench at her tone, "Charlotte please-"

" _No_ Jocelyn! You don't get to explain yourself. How could you do that to him? You were his world! He loved you to pieces and you step on top of him for selfish reasons? You were perfect for each other." Charlotte glared at me as she took a step forward.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean-"

"Didn't mean to what? Feed him lies? Make him feel like you cared? Jocelyn, you don't deserve Henry at all." Charlotte took another step, rage building in her features.

"I know. I deserve all of this but please-" I didn't want her to hate me. As much as I deserved the insults, I couldn't lose her altogether.

" _Of course_ you deserve this Jocelyn! No wonder your mom hated you. She probably couldn't stand to have a lying _disappointment_ for a daughter!"

At this point, Charlotte dumped the remainders of her smoothie on me. I heard Ray gasp at the action. My clothes were soaked and I could feel smoothie in my hair and on my face.

"Charlotte _enough!_ " Ray's voice was loud and clear amidst everything else. I attempted to wipe the smoothie from my eyes but my tears clouded my vision back up. "Jocelyn, I think it's best if you leave."

Sucking up whatever was left of my dignity, I nodded, "Yeah. Um, I'll see you guys out there." I unsnapped my watch from my wrist and tossed it to him. I tugged my gumballs out of my pocket next only for Charlotte to rip them out of my hands. I bit my lip to keep it from quivering before turning on my heels and walking out for the last time.


	11. chapter ten - regrets

_**song for the chapter - nobody like you by little mix**_

Usually when I'm sad, I turn to music to fix it. I couldn't go there this time. Too many lyrics and songs reminded me of Henry. I had playlists dedicated to him and albums that we sang a little too loud in the car.

Instead of music, I filled the void with movies. My kitten, Opal was curled up on my lap as I shoved another spoonful of chocolate chip ice cream in my mouth. _13 Going on 30_ played across my laptop but I could hardly pay attention. It hadn't even been a week yet (5 days to be exact) and I had run into at least one team member a day. It was only noon now and I wasn't even daring to walk outside.

When I got home after I broke up with Henry, the first thing I did was take a shower. Charlotte's pineapple smoothie smelled delicious but definitely not in my hair. I couldn't even be mad at her for it. I knew she was protective of Henry especially since she had known him since the beginning of his sidekick career. She had seen more than me and her experience was beyond mine.

It took every ounce of restraint to not stomp down to Kyle and Kayden's house and scream at them for what they've done. Many times, I debated it. Sure, I didn't know what the consequences of not following Kyle's journal would be but I knew Henry, Charlotte, Jasper, and Ray would be safe if I did.

A picture album laid in front of me filled to the brim of photos. Each one had a quote or comment on the back from the person who took it. This whole book was Charlotte's idea yet she gave it to me for my birthday. It was one of my favorite things I had. I treasured it more than anything.

My eyes landed on a picture. It was one Ray took of us in the Man Cave. I was on Henry's shoulders, both of us in uniform as a smile was frozen on my face. Charlotte was standing on the couch and placing a crown on my head. Henry had his foot braced on Jasper's back as if he were a footstool. Our curly haired friend was giving the camera a thumbs up. It was after our first mission together and it just so happened to land on my birthday, hence the crown.

My eyes swelled with tears as I pulled it out of its holder. I stared at it for a second before flipping it over to read Charlotte's handwriting.

 _Some people arrive and make such a beautiful impact on your life, you can barely remember what life was like without them. We love you forever and always, J :)_

I leaned my head back against my bed as tears fell down my cheeks. I felt like I was being torn apart by this. I knew it had to be done given the circumstances but these were my _best friends_. They've been here with me from day one and beyond. I couldn't do this without them. They were everything to me.

The doorbell ringing made me groan as I tossed off my blankets and stomped downstairs. I quickly wiped off my cheeks before I opened the front door, not even bothering with my appearance. I was wearing one of Henry's t-shirts that was way too big on me. It covered my gym shorts completely so I looked pantless.

Jasper stood in front of me looking quite concerned. His hair was a curly mess and he kept checking behind his shoulder. My eyes widened as I took in his appearance and set my ice cream aside.

"Jasper, is everything okay?"

He finally looked at me and shook his head, "No, listen. Something happened at Junk-N-Stuff and we need your help."

I closed my door behind me before leaning against it. "No offense, Jasp but based off how the past few days have gone, I highly doubt they want to see me."

Jasper shook his head and wrapped his hand around my arm, "Jocelyn, please. This is bad, really bad. Dr. Minyak has Charlotte and Ray under the dream beams."

"Let's go." I reached back inside to lock the door before sprinting with Jasper behind me. If Dr. Minyak was back, I had some unfinished business to wrap up with him.

The elevator usually goes faster than I would like but today, I felt like it was taking forever. Ever since I got my powers, the elevator seemed easier to handle. Jasper, however, was screaming like a girl. When we finally got to the floor, I almost wanted to punch through the doors. They finally opened after what felt like hours and I ran into the room.

"What's wrong? Is everyone okay?"

Suddenly, I felt extra weight as two people jumped on me and wrestled me to the ground. I screamed and threw my legs out, hoping to throw them off. I twisted myself on the floor and started to crawl away on my stomach before someone grabbed my ankle.

"Jocelyn!" Henry's voice was somehow heard over my screaming. I stopped struggling for a second only for my arms to be pulled behind me. I kicked my legs again until someone grabbed them and pinned them to the floor.

Finally calming down, I realized it was Ray that had my legs pinned to the floor. Jasper was behind me, holding my arms and helping me sit up. Henry and Charlotte stood in front of me, both with their arms crossed.

"Jasper! You liar!" I attempted to wiggle out of his hold and it worked as he let go but I realized my arms were tied behind my back. "Seriously?"

I couldn't do anything but watch as Ray tied my legs together too. He stepped back before picking me up and moving me to the couch. I huffed and threw my head back, a sigh escaping my lips. Just when I was _finally_ getting away from them.

Henry sat on the table right in front of me as Ray stood behind me. Charlotte was a little behind Henry with Jasper next to her. All of them stared at me as if they were waiting for me to explode.

"You didn't have to kidnap me just to yell at me more," I mumbled, turning to look away from them.

"Okay, what is going on?" Charlotte slammed her hand on the table causing me to jump.

"Char," Henry hissed towards her before turning back to face me, "Jocelyn, what happened to you?"

Taking a deep breath, I mentally prepared myself for more lies as I looked down at my lap. "Nothing happened okay? I'm just changing."

"You're lying." Henry's gaze didn't shift from me.

"I am not! Listen, I just want to go home and watch sad movies and cry. Why is that too much to ask?" I closed my eyes so I didn't have to see them.

"Jocelyn, you always lose eye contact when you're lying. Now tell us what's really going on." Charlotte seemed to calm down a bit.

I shook my head, a whimper unconsciously escaping my mouth as I teared up. I couldn't put them in danger. Not after everything else that's happened because of me.

"Jocelyn, it's okay. You can tell us." Ray patted my shoulder.

I shook my head again, "You don't understand. I can't. I can't put you guys in danger _again_."

My friends all looked at each other before looking back at me. If Kyle was watching this...

"You can either tell us or we'll read it outloud for you. One or the other." Jasper spoke up this time, a taunting tone to his voice.

" _What?"_ He held up the journal in response, "How did you guys find that?"

Charlotte grabbed the journal from Jasper's hand, "The question is, how could you not tell us earlier? And, we stole it obviously."

"I didn't want to risk it. This is dangerous, guys. He's teamed up with my mo- _Melissa_ before. I couldn't do that to you." I looked away from them again. Charlotte was right, I was awful at keeping eye contact, especially when it came to conversations like these.

"Joce, do you know who wrote this?" Ray came around to face me. I bit my lip and focused on myself, untying the ropes with my powers.

"Uh, unclear?" I questioned as the final knot came undone.

"Jocelyn!" Henry yelled after me as I hopped over the couch and ran towards the tubes. I heard a loud _swoosh_ before Henry appeared in front of me. His hands came to rest on my shoulders, preventing me from running away.

"Wait a second, is that my shirt?" He pointed down at the material covering my skin. With a blush, I nodded.

Charlotte rolled her eyes at us and came closer. I took a step towards Henry, my consciousness getting the best of me. A look of hurt crossed her face but she quickly hid it. "Jocelyn just admitted that we're being stalked and you're worried about a shirt?"

Henry moved his hand so just one was on my forearm lightly. I don't know what this whole thing meant for me and the team. I was so confused at this point. I messed up so bad.

"Joce, go sit. I'm going to go lock up Junk-N-Stuff for the day and we'll figure this out." Ray nodded towards Henry and I before going in the elevator.

Henry tugged my arm towards the couch again, leaving me to be dragged along. He gently pushed me down on the couch before sitting next to me. "Now, I want the truth, Jay. Who is it?"

I sighed, my eyes narrowing in on the journal that rested on the table. "I lied a bit, okay? About a lot of things, actually. Kayden and I _were_ reallyfriends growing up but he didn't leave when we were little. He has an older brother named Kyle. He's a year older than us so nineteen now. He was really into science growing up. One day, my mom was talking to him. He was around fifteen so he fully understood right and wrong. A week later, he put some weird pill in my water that gave me amnesia. Something went wrong with his procedures. The medicine was supposed to kill me, not give me amnesia of the past few months. My mom twisted the lies in for him. That's why I thought Kayden moved away for his mom's work when in reality, he moved because his brother tried to kill me."

I heard Charlotte gasp across from me. I played with my hands in my lap. Even I didn't know the full story until a few weeks ago. I couldn't believe it myself.

"When we were at the fashion release, Kyle and Kayden were there. As soon as I heard his name, I remembered everything. The scar on my arm wasn't from Mitch, Henry. It was Kyle. He shattered my arm in four spots when he busted me for sneaking in his room," I glanced up at my friends. There was a weird sense of deja vu at the moment. We always seemed to have deep talks in this room. "I don't know _why_ he's doing this. I just know he's using me to get it."


	12. chapter eleven - hunt

_**song for the chapter - when you look me in the eyes by the jonas brothers**_

 **okay first, sorry for all the slow songs? idk what i'm doing anymore but i love a good jam by the jo bros so here. also, this is a filler chapter with some jocenry fluff because i think we all need it. enjoy!**

 _Treasure Hunt. Today. Go._

This was the only text that came from Henry this morning. After last night, I wasn't sure where we stood with each other but something told me I was about to find out.

I forced myself out of bed and got ready. I decided to look somewhat nice because I had no clue where I was going or who I was going to see. I pulled on a black romper and tied my converse before going into the bathroom. I quickly washed my face and brushed my teeth before brushing out my straight hair.

Once I thought I looked somewhat decent, I grabbed my phone off the charger and walked downstairs. A bright pink sticky note was on my front door, catching my attention. I walked towards it and pulled it off.

 _First stop: the date that went up in flames._

I read the note over a few times before processing what he was saying. When we got called into the mission for the fire, we told Kayden we were going to get ice cream. That's probably where my first clue was.

The shop was packed when I got there. All of the tables were taken up so I decided getting an ice cream cone wouldn't hurt while I tried to find the second clue. I waited my turn in line as I scrolled through my phone lazily.

"What can I get you?"

My head snapped up at the familiar voice as I recognized Ray. He was dressed in his Captain Man uniform and was scooping out cones.

"Wow," I smirked as I leaned against the counter, "Captain Man. I didn't know you could scoop ice cream."

Captain Man faked offense before nodding and handing me a cup of ice cream. "Funny, random girl. Here's some ice cream to make you happy."

I looked up and smiled at him before walking away. Another pink sticky note was resting on top of the frozen treat. I picked it off before shoving a spoonful in my mouth. I took a seat underneath one of the trees before reading the note.

 _So Captain Man was working at the ice cream shop today? Where else does Captain Man work?_

I groaned to myself as I realized I had to walk all the way back to the Man Cave but I pushed myself up anyway. It was a far enough walk that I could eat my whole ice cream on the way there so there was no use wasting time here.

Junk-N-Stuff was completely empty when I walked in. Gooch wasn't at the front desk, nor any of my friends. I looked around the store, confused before heading down to the Man Cave. The room was empty except for another post-it note on the middle of the table along with something round.

 _Part one of your big surprise. Jasper will lead you to the next destination._

A medium sized black collar was on the table. I picked it up, along with the note just as someone came through the sprocket door.

"Ready?" Jasper made his way down the stairs to stand next to me. I smiled at him before my eyes landed on the object in my hand. "You're going to love it. I promise. Come on."

Jasper grabbed my wrist and led me upstairs before we started walking again. A comfortable silence surrounded us as we continued. I was super eager to know what Henry had planned. If I had seen Ray and Jasper already that meant Henry and...

"Charlotte's next, huh?" I kicked a stone in my path.

Jasper looked over at me, "Yeah, why?"

I sighed and shook my head. "Last time we talked wasn't the best, that's all."

"She feels awful, Joce. I talked to her before we split up for this whole thing. She knew she was harsh on you," Jasper said as we turned the corner.

I could see Swellview High School coming into view. "I deserved to get yelled at, I understand that, but I just..."

"Wish she hadn't said what she did?" He suggested earning a nod from me. "She knows. And she feels terrible. Just remember, she cares about you Jocelyn. You're like her sister."

"And what's she to you? A sister?" I smirked over at him. His cheeks went red as we began walking into the school. "Oh, my God! No way!"

"Shh, I haven't told her yet. Just, go find her, okay? I'll see you later." Jasper shoved me towards the doors lightly.

I glanced at them before turning around and wrapping my curly haired friend in a hug. "Thank you, Jasper. And you better be romantic when you tell her, I'm just saying."

He rolled his eyes as I let go. I waved as I walked away and pulled the door open. The main lobby was empty except for Charlotte who was sitting on the staircase, a box in her hands. When she saw me, she immediately stood up and ran over.

"Jocelyn, I'm so so sorry."

I could see her eyes glisten with tears as she stopped a few feet from me. I didn't say anything at first and just twirled the objects in my hands as she looked at me.

"What I did, what I said, it was wrong. It was so so wrong. I'm so super sorry and I know I can't fix what I did. Just know that if I had the option to go back and fix it, I would. You're my best friend. You mean the world to me and I-I just didn't think before I acted that day. You're everything to Henry and just knowing what happened, I snapped. I took his side before finding out yours and that was wrong of me. I'm so sorry, Jocelyn."

Charlotte was in tears by now as she wrapped up her apology. My heart was absolutely broken for her. Yes, I had been torn apart by what she said but I knew she didn't mean it. Henry was our friend, same with Jasper and if anyone were to hurt them in any way, we'd both be out to kill.

"Char," I reached forward to wrap her in a hug, "It's okay. I forgive you."

I felt her arms wrap around me tightly as she squeezed me back. We stood there for a minute in silence before we let go of each other. We both took a step back as Charlotte reached out with the box. I took it from her hands gently.

"Part of it's the treasure hunt and part of it's from me, as a make up gift. I hope you like it." She smiled sheepishly at me.

I shoved my phone and the stick notes in my pocket before gently pulling the lid off the box. My favorite candy, M&M's, was on top along with two gift cards and a framed picture. It was the same picture from the photo book that I was in love with except larger.

"I knew it was your favorite one so I thought you'd like one for your room."

I pulled her back into a hug, "Charlotte, this is so nice. You didn't have to do this."

She laughed, "I wouldn't have forgiven myself if I didn't. Now, pick out the second piece of your puzzle."

I reached back in the box to pull out a long black and white piece. It had a metal clip on the end and was covered in polka dots. My eyes widened as I realized what was happening.

"No way." I looked up at Charlotte with my mouth wide open. She had a huge smile on her face as she grabbed the box from my hands.

"Let's go!" Her hand wrapped around my arm as she pulled me from the school. "Oh, here!"

Charlotte reached in her pocket to pull out the final sticky note. She handed it to me as we continued walking.

 _Last one. Hope you don't mind having a new roommate? Guess you better come meet them before they move in._

My excitement was through the roof at this point. When we got to my house, I practically busted the door down. Charlotte was right behind me the whole time, her phone focused on me. I set my phone and the notes down before walking upstairs. My bedroom door was shut and I could hear whispering coming from inside. My hand grabbed the knob so tightly I thought it would shatter to pieces. I slowly pushed the door open, my heart pounding in my chest.

A sudden noise made me jump as a ball of black and brown leapt towards me. I was pushed back slightly as it landed on me, almost making me fall to the ground. I shook my hair out of my face to see what it was before I screamed.

A German Shepherd puppy was licking my face like crazy as Henry, Jasper, and Charlotte watched on. It had little floppy ears and tiny paws that were moving a mile a minute. I kneeled down on the ground before setting it down, watching with tears in my eyes as it bounced across my room.

"Henry!"

I shoved myself off the ground and practically threw myself into my boyfriend's arms. I was sobbing at this point as he spun me in a circle. I could hear the puppy yapping in the background as Charlotte and Jasper played with it.

When Henry finally let go of me, I thought I was going to fall over. Never in my life had someone treated me the way he has, with such love and kindness. It made me cry all over again as I watched the puppy run in circles.

"You like him?" Henry smiled softly at me as he tucked his hands in his pockets.

I laughed and wiped my eyes with my hands. "I love him. You didn't have to do this, you know?"

"Yeah," He leaned down to scoop the dog up in his arms. "But I wanted to. Your dad's already on board with the dog. He thought it was a great idea."

I reached forward to take the small animal from him, my heart swelling as I ran my hand down its fur. "I think I might die."

"Don't die." Charlotte came up next to me, her hand resting on my shoulder. "Crying is fine, but don't die."

"You guys," I practically whined as I leaned my cheek against the dog's ear. I sat down on my bed to hold the wiggly animal on my lap. Chocolate eyes stared back at me before he jumped forward and licked my face all over again.

"So? What are you going to name him?" Charlotte sat next to me and ran her hand down the puppy's back.

I bit my lip as I stared at the dog. I wanted something cute but obviously strong. It was a German Shepherd obviously, and they're super smart dogs. But I wanted to remember how he got here...

"Lucky," I said as I rubbed his ears softly.

"Lucky?" Jasper repeated my answer as he sat next to Henry, "Why Lucky?"

I shrugged, "Many reasons. One because it means fortunate and I have so much to be thankful for that it's ridiculous. Two, because I'm super _lucky_ to have you guys."

"This is so cheesy," Henry groaned and threw his head back, hitting the wall behind him. I chuckled as he sat back up, rubbing the spot he hit.

Charlotte rolled her eyes at my boyfriend before standing up. "Well, we're super glad you like him, Joce. Jasper and I will see you two later." She walked over and grabbed the curly haired boy by his shirt collar before dragging him out of the room.

I jumped up with Lucky in my arms. "Jasper! Don't forget what we talked about!" I shouted. I heard him yell back a confirmation before I turned back towards Henry.

"Talked about what?" He walked towards me to pet the dog.

"Jasper likes Charlotte. Charlotte likes Jasper. Bam," I summed up.

He nodded before turning and climbing back up the stairs that led to my window. I followed behind him with Lucky still wrapped in my arms. Henry climbed out before holding his arms out. I passed the dog over to him before climbing out myself.

Henry had definitely thought this out top to bottom. Our favorite spot on the roof was covered with blankets and snacks as well as a cooler of drinks. It was around 8 at night. I guess I walked really slow today while trying to find everyone. The sky was starting to darken as the sunset in front of us.

After we were both situated on the blankets, I pulled Lucky back. He stayed sitting up for a minute before he laid down across my lap. I smiled down at him as a comfortable silence surrounded Henry and I.

"You didn't need to do anything, you know that right?" I looked over at the blond who gave me a curious look. "I was the one who hurt you, not the other way around."

Henry sighed, "Yeah but you were forced. You're in a hard position, Jay. We don't know what's going to happen from here."

"I know." I looked back down at my lap.

"Hey," Henry reached over and grabbed my hand tightly in his. "It's going to be fine, okay? No matter what."

I nodded silently as he leaned over and kissed my temple. I sighed and leaned onto his shoulder as I kept petting Lucky. Whatever mess we had gotten ourselves in was going to get trickier from here. I knew that. Henry knew that. Ray, Charlotte, and Jasper knew that. The funny thing was, worrying wasn't even on my mind right now.

Right now, I was focused on repairing my friendships, my relationship, and getting myself back to normal.


	13. chapter twelve - calm

_**song for the chapter - days in the sun by various artists (from the new beauty and the beast soundtrack)**_

"You guys, come join me!"

All I could do was glance at Jasper without losing the contents of my stomach. He was currently swimming in a pool of peanuts and melted butter. His reasoning, he wanted to take peanut butter to a new level.

"Gross, Jasper." I almost gagged at him. I _hated_ peanut butter since I was little. The taste of it just didn't settle well with me and made my throat tighten up. It was awful in my opinion.

"Why are you in there anyway?" Charlotte spun around in the desk chair to watch him.

I sighed and dropped my head into my arms. "He says it's taking peanut butter to the extreme. I think it's liquid barf."

Henry shook his head at me as he pulled himself over the back of the couch to sit next to me. He was in his Kid Danger uniform since he had just gotten back with Ray. I smiled at him as he tugged his gumball tube out of his pocket and tossed a blue one into his mouth. The range of colors exploded near me as Kid Danger turned back into Henry Hart.

"How'd it go?" I asked as I moved my thumb across his cheek gently to remove some dirt and paint.

"Absolutely spectacular."

Ray practically growled as he walked off the tube pad. He was covered head to toe in what looked like blue paint. Charlotte and I burst out laughing at his appearance. Henry only smirked next to me as Ray crossed the Man Cave floor. Blue footprints were left in his tracks as he stopped in front of Charlotte.

"What happened to you?" Charlotte didn't attempt to hide the laugh threatening to break free.

"Well, we were fighting Van Del and you know him and his stupid pits of paint," Henry started, "Ray was totally losing against one of the Wall Dogs and then-"

"I was _not_ losing!" Ray defended.

Henry rolled his eyes, "Yeah totally. So anyway, Spray-Z was about to become laser toast by me and all of a sudden, Two-Canz goes all 'cannonball' and shoves Ray over the edge into the paint. It was _so great_."

"Not _great_ ," Ray grunted. He pulled out his tube of gum and blew a bubble causing the paint to disappear from everywhere but his hair. "I'm going to shower." He stomped off towards his room as we dissolved into a fit of laughter.

"Can someone help me? There's butter in places I've never touched."

"Ew, okay, no." I didn't even glance at Jasper before twisting my wrist. I could hear him yelp and suddenly, butter hit the walls along with a few scattered peanuts. Jasper sighed before walking towards us. I could see a few stubborn peanuts stuck to him but for the most part, he was butter and peanut free.

Charlotte groaned and wiped butter from her face, "Gross, Joce."

I shrugged, "It was better than any of us helping him."

As Jasper sulked off to shower himself, I turned towards Henry. The past few days had been great for us and I had burned Kyle's journal as soon as I had the chance. I wasn't too worried about him at the moment since everyone else knew what was happening but there was still a pinch of me that did.

"Your dad and Jackson get back today?" Henry wrapped an arm around my shoulder as he pulled his phone out with his other hand.

I nodded, "I have to be at the airport by 5:30 to get them off their flight. I can't tell you how _excited_ I am to finally have them back. Do you want to come with me?"

Henry had talked with my dad and brother a few months after we started dating. Of course, they knew him since we had been friends longer than that but you know how dads and brothers are with their stupid protective talks.

"Sure, always up for seeing my rival." Henry smirked at his own comment.

Us being in a relationship obviously meant Henry was at my house more. This in turn led to bonding between my family and boyfriend. Jackson and Henry loved to square off on MarioKart, neither of them allowing me a turn, _ever_. Dad and Henry loved to bond over classic movies while I was nose deep in new music and movies. Sure, Henry and I clashed on some things but in the end, we got along better than anything else. He knew me better than I knew myself most days and I was terrified to even think about leaving him again.

I honked my horn _again_ at another driver. People in the airport paid no attention to any surrounding cars, that was for sure. Henry was amused by my irritation as I finally pulled my Jeep into the baggage claim pickup. My dad and brother had both texted me that they were ready and I had been fighting idiots to get here the entire time.

As soon as I had a chance to get out, I flung my door open and practically jumped into my dad's arms. It had been a few weeks since I had seen him and I had missed him deeply. I was somewhat used to Jackson being gone with college and all but not Dad this much.

"Hi bug!" Dad returned the hug as he let go of his suitcase. I squeezed him tightly as I heard Henry greet Jackson. I finally released Dad before attacking my brother. He stumbled back a few steps and hugged me tightly.

"How was the trip?" I asked as I climbed back into my seat. Henry was still in the passenger seat as Jackson and Dad filled up the backseat.

Dad smiled as I turned out onto the main road. "Insanely cool. I wish you would've come with us. You would've loved it."

"What kind of stuff did you guys do?" Henry was flipping between Jackson's series of pictures he brought home.

"A ton!" My brother practically screamed, "My favorite was definitely seeing Big Ben though. It was so cool."

I chuckled at his response, "I'm surprised it wasn't some manly answer like _totally the soccer game_ or some ridiculous hot girl you saw."

"Well," Jackson smirked, "There were some _pretty_ hot girls, if you ask me."

My dad groaned as Jackson went into describing some people he met while he was there. Henry finally handed back all the pictures before he started scrolling on his phone. The car fell into a comfortable silence the rest of the way. We had ordered pizza for dinner and Henry was joining us so I was sure conversation would start up again.

As soon as I parked the car, the boys climbed out to grab the luggage. A barking noise caught my attention and I quickly ran in front of Jackson. He looked at me like I was crazy as I scrambled to push my key in the lock.

"Why are you so eager to get inside? I know you love pizza, Joce, but you have to wait-"

"No!" I cut my brother off as my key finally turned, "Not pizza."

I pushed the door open and left it as I sprinted into the kitchen. Lucky was curled up in his crate, his stuffed hedgehog gripped between his teeth. His ears perked up at my presence and he immediately stood up.

"Hi baby," I cooed as I unlocked the crate. He practically tumbled out into my lap as I rubbed his head. Henry and Jackson started making a commotion in the family room causing Lucky's ears to perk up. He was definitely familiar with Henry but had yet to see my brother and father.

"Go get 'em." I moved out of the way as my dog went racing into the other room, sliding across the floor. The boys quieted as I heard Lucky bark.

"Whoa!"

I walked into the other room to see Lucky practically drowning my brother in slobber. Jackson looked absolutely disgusted and tried to push him away. When he finally got Lucky by the collar, his eyes widened.

"When the hell did we get a dog?" He turned to look at me before facing Dad.

Our parent shrugged as he flipped through the mail. "She got one while we were away."

"Why didn't I get one?" Jackson whined.

I shook my head and jumped over the couch, landing in between the two boys as Lucky situated himself on my lap. "You're never home. Plus, I'm the golden child."

Jackson rolled his eyes before leaning to pick up his Wii remote. Henry was already holding his with MarioKart up on the screen. Dad looked up at the familiar music before he dropped the mail.

"Ah, no. Not yet." He walked over and sat on the ottoman in front of us. "I believe we need to talk."

Jackson's eyes immediately widened, "I'm out."

"Nope, sit." Dad pointed at the couch, "Jocelyn, why were you in the hospital when we were gone?"

My heart stopped at his question. Back when Henry and I were hurt, Ray had called Dad against my wishes. There weren't many questions over our phone call but I should've expected this to happen. I didn't even have a cover story planned.

Henry looked at me, concerned by my silence.

"Um, I-"

"And don't lie," Dad interrupted again, "Because I will know."

My eyes dropped to my dog as I attempted to think of an answer, "Henry and I were going for ice cream and there was a building on fire. We tried to help people and it got rough."

Dad nodded and licked his lips. I could tell he wasn't convinced. "Then why did the hospital say _Captain Man_ brought you in? And why did Henry have _broken ribs_?"

My boyfriend sat up straighter by his name. The doorbell rang, saving us a few seconds as Jackson stood to grab it. My dad looked between Henry and I expectantly.

"Look, Dad, it was an accident, okay? We're fine. Captain Man and his sidekicks saved us." I tried to dismiss the topic.

"Fine," Dad looked at me suspiciously, "But, anymore calls like that one and we're having a serious talk, understood?"

Both Henry and I nodded vigorously. My dad sighed before standing up and helping Jackson with the food. I let out a sigh of relief and sunk into the couch cushions. Henry looked absolutely terrified next to me.

"That was close," He whispered as he played with his remote.

"Yeah," I breathed out, "Way too close."

Hours later, Jackson, Henry, and I were all piled on the couch while both boys raced on Rainbow Road. Henry was winning, as usual, with Jackson not too far behind. I was curled up in Henry's side while Lucky laid on both of us. He was half asleep while I scratched his back.

"Are you kidding me?" Henry practically shouted as a blue spiny shell flipped him over. Jackson cheered as he sped past my boyfriend, flying over the finish line first. "Not fair!"

"So fair!" Jackson sat back into the couch and took a sip of his Mountain Dew.

I groaned as Henry declared rematch. "Seriously? Can't we just watch a movie and go to bed?"

"Nope," Both of them replied in unison.

I sighed and pulled my phone off the table. I unlocked the screen and scrolled through Instagram and Twitter a bit. My eyes stopped on a picture that was posted just a few minutes ago.

 _charlatte_

 _hey, thanks for finally getting the courage to finally ask :)_

I squealed in response, freaking out the boys and Lucky. Jackson immediately rolled his eyes at me while Henry reached down to grab his fallen remote.

Jackson looked over at me before resuming the game. "What was that about?"

"Jasper asked Charlotte out!" I started typing out a text message to her quickly while Henry looked over my shoulder.

"Atta boy, Jasp." Henry turned his attention back to the screen.

Charlotte and I messaged back and forth for a minute. I smiled and leaned against Henry. "Aww. I'm so happy for them."

"They didn't get married, Joce. Chill," Jackson teased.

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah but she-"

My phone buzzed in my hand as another text came through. I felt time freeze around me at the contact name and immediately sat up straight. The boys were too involved to notice me or my unfinished sentence.

"She what?" Henry laughed but kept his gaze on the screen. My hand covered my mouth as my heart pounded in my chest. "Joce? Hello?" He finally turned to look at me and noticed my expression. "Princess, what's wrong?"

I shook my head and stood up, jumping over both boys to yank the front door open. Despite my wishes, two familiar figures were standing in front of me, both looking somewhat pleased at my appearance.

"Joce? Who is it?" Jackson stood up and came up behind me. He squinted at the duo in front of me before breaking out into a smile. "The Scott brothers? No way!"

As my brother pushed me aside to pull the visitors into hugs, I stepped back into Henry. His arms immediately wrapped around me as he moved me behind him. Jackson was oblivious to our reactions as he let the people inside.

"Jay, aren't you going to say hi to Kyle and Kayden?" Jackson looked over the moon by the sight of the two brothers.

I shook my head in response as Lucky jumped off the couch. He growled at the boys, sensing the fear from Henry and I. Kyle leaned down to pet him. My eyes widened and I stepped out from behind Henry.

"Hands off the dog," I ordered. Lucky came running towards me as I bent down to grab him. Kyle just smirked and stood back up. Jackson gave me a puzzled look but didn't comment.

"You guys want to join us for Mario Kart?" Jackson motioned to the paused screen.

Kyle nodded, "Love to." He walked over and shoulder checked Henry before sitting down on the couch.

"I'll join in a minute. Just want to talk to Joce and Henry." Kayden forced a smile to look convincing before dragging both of us onto the front porch. I immediately tore my arm out of his grip and stepped away.

"What the _hell_ are you doing here?" I growled.

Kayden's poker face suddenly dropped. "Joce, I'm so, so sorry."

Henry scoffed beside me, "Sorry? Sorry that you about broke my girlfriend emotionally? Not cool, dude."

Kayden sighed, "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry though. Kyle's forced me into this plan and I can't get out-"

"Stop it! Stop trying to make us feel bad for you. You're cold, Kayden. I don't know what happened to you while you were gone but I don't know you. I don't _want_ to know you. What I do want is for you to get out of my life, my town, and my house. I don't want to see you." I bit my lip to stop from talking further.

Kayden didn't defend himself. He just nodded and looked at the ground. This wasn't the kid I grew up with. He was my best friend. He never hurt me, disrespected me. Nothing. He wasn't raised that way, I knew that much.

"I don't want to do this, trust me. He's using me, Joce. You have to know that much. I don't want to do anything he's planned." Kayden shook his head desperately.

Henry took a more logical approach than I did. "Can you tell us what he's planning?"

Kayden sighed, "No. I don't know what happens until it happens. He probably knows I'll tell. I don't even know why he's so dead set on you, Jocelyn. It's been that way ever since we talked about coming back to Swellview."

I shook my head and looked down at Lucky. At that moment, the door clicked open, making me jump. Jackson's head popped out with a huge smile on his face.

"Guys, come on! You're missing out."

Kayden gave Henry and I another apologetic look before following my brother back into the house. I sighed and laced my left hand with Henry's. We couldn't call Ray in because that would risk exposing our secrets and I couldn't do that. Kyle knew that. He had planned all of this.

Henry and I made our way back into the house and tucked ourselves in the LoveSac that was in the corner of the room. I watched as Kayden and Kyle laughed with my brother as they raced in Mario Kart. Henry didn't join in this time, refusing to leave my side.

This night was supposed to be bonding with my brother and boyfriend. Of course, my ex-best friend and archenemy just _had_ to show up instead. Welcome to another day in the life of Jocelyn Adams.


	14. chapter thirteen - warning

_**song for the chapter - if i die young by the band perry**_

"Captain Man, move your _butt!_ "

I shoved Ray as I dodged another paintball. Apparently, the Wall Dogs weren't satisfied with their last fight with Captain Man and Kid Danger and came back for more. To my amusement, they had put up a huge poster of Captain Man in the Swellview Park and were shooting paintballs at it. Ray obviously wasn't having it and called us in to fix it.

"Can't you guys find someone else to take out your misplaced aggressions on?" I shouted at Two-Canz.

She shook her head and tried to hit me again. I was confused as to why they chose paintball guns as their weapons. Paintball's stung when they hit you but they didn't hold you back for long. It definitely wasn't made to conquer.

"Sorry, _herbert_. Can't have you guys trying to ruin our art."

A new voice joined the fight as I was tackled from behind. A scream left my lips as they pinned me to the ground on my stomach. I could feel the person sit on my lower back, forcing their weight on me.

"Get off!" I huffed as I stopped struggling.

The person on top of me laughed, "Not a chance. Hey, I gotta say, that Kid Danger dude is pretty hot."

My exhaustion disappeared as I rolled myself over, forcing the person off. I stood up and flung my hands out as the familiar blue hue of my powers surrounded my attacker and kept them down.

To my shock, it was a female staring back at me. Her blonde hair had blue streaks in between but looked a bit tangled. She looked absolutely confused as to her lack of movement. I squinted as I saw the _WD_ engraved in her arm. My eyes widened.

"What did you do to me?" She gave up on trying to move.

I shrugged and pulled the handcuffs off my waist. "Magic, hun. And next time, don't compliment my boyfriend in front of me. That's my job."

I leaned down and turned her on her back before pulling her hands behind and cuffing them. I dismissed my hold on her so she could stand. To my surprise, she didn't look the least offended by my comments.

"You're his new chick? Dang, the kid's downgrading."

My mouth dropped slightly, "Excuse me?"

"Well," She scoffed, "He can't exactly upgrade from me. I mean, I was the best out of his past girlfriends. I had the most fun."

I licked my lips as she continued talking. My mind went racing with her words. So Henry had a girlfriend who was also a Wall Dog, who commits crimes, and he was okay with that?

"Jay? You good?" My boyfriend walked up behind us at that moment, his eyes widening as he saw who was with me, "Veronika?"

She smiled at him, "Oh, Kid Danger. I knew you'd come and let me go!"

I rolled my eyes at her but shoved her towards Henry nonetheless, "You deal with her. I'll see you later."

Thankfully, Ray and Henry had rounded up all the other Wall Dogs just as the cops arrived meaning I was able to escape quicker. I took one glance behind me to see the girl all cuddled up with Henry before I turned around. I started to walk away from the scene but someone else jumped in front of me.

"Princess." Henry's voice followed me as he and Ray walked over.

"What are you doing here?" I gritted my teeth at the person in front of me.

"Uh, hey," Ray moved to stand next to me, "Who is this kid?"

Kayden smirked at my boss, "Kayden Scott."

"Get _the hell_ out of here. Right now." I took a step closer, my hands clenching into fists.

"Calm down." Henry reached out to pull me back, his arm wrapping around my waist to keep me in my spot.

Ray looked at me before turning back to Kayden. "Can I ask why my sidekick wants to kill you?"

Kayden looked me up and down, "She's feisty that's for sure."

"That's _it!_ "

I ripped myself out of Henry's grasp and shoved my hands forward. Kayden slammed into the wall of the building behind him, a groan escaping his lips. I stomped towards him, my anger getting the best of me. First the stupid Wall Dog girl ran my emotions up and now this?

I had so many things I wanted to scream at Kayden. I wanted to tear him apart at this point. He had tried to break me from the beginning. I should've known him coming back was a bad thing as soon as Henry got jealous of him. There's nothing good when it comes to the Scott family.

"You don't get to talk to me like that," I snapped, "Not after everything you've done. I want nothing more than you to be _gone_ Kayden. So do me a favor and _leave_. If not, I'll do it for you."

Kayden chuckled at my outburst, "You think a little threat is going to stop me? Jocelyn, you make me laugh."

"He knows who you are?" I could hear the angry tone in Ray's voice at the revelation.

I sighed, "Sadly, yes."

"Of course I know who she is!" Kayden taunted, "The wannabe superhero who's the family disappointment on good days. She knows she'll never live up to her dad's expectations and knows her brother will succeed further than she does. She could never make her mom happy and always drags everyone down. Jocelyn's nothing but a _failure_ at best."

Kayden dropped to the ground as I lost my grip on him. I didn't even bother attempting to stop him. My hands dropped to my sides as I tried to search for something to say. I took a step back towards the boys.

"What did you just say?" Henry's tone was threatening as he made his way towards Kayden.

"No, just let it go," I tried to grab his arm but he pushed my hand off. Henry stopped just a few inches from Kayden. His fists were clenched tightly next to him. I could see Ray take a few steps forward, ready to jump in if needed.

"You can do a lot of things, Kayden. You can insult us, you can attack us, you can threaten us, but the one thing you _will not do_ is talk to my girlfriend that way. She's gone through hell and back. She's proven herself again and again to be an amazing hero and she's not about to fall at your knees begging for mercy." Henry pressed his finger on Kayden's chest as he moved even closer.

"Kid," Ray stepped even closer as Henry continued his rant.

"You can do whatever you want to me, to Captain Man, but you _will not_ touch her ever again. Do you understand me? You've lost more than just a friend, Kayden. She told me over and over again to give you a chance and let you explain yourself. She wanted you to shape up, for yourself. You blew that shot. You lost out on someone who would've been there for you no matter how much you messed up. That's your own fault."

Ray grabbed Henry's arm and pulled him back a few feet, "Kid, I think he gets it."

Henry didn't say anything else and just continued to glare at Kayden. There was a moment where nobody moved until Henry stepped back to grab my hand. I let him pull me along as we followed Ray. We were about to turn the corner until Kayden stopped us.

"He's coming, Jocelyn."

We froze and turned to face him. Ray looked confused, "Who's coming?"

"Kyle. He's coming. And he's not going to let you go easily." Kayden's smirk was purely evil as he narrowed his eyes on me.

I tried not to let his words affect me as Ray grabbed my shoulder and pushed me along. My gaze dropped to the ground. We continued our walk to the car in silence. As soon as Ray unlocked the doors, I was in the backseat, curling up. Henry took the passenger seat with Ray driving obviously.

I reached in my pocket and pulled out my gum. Choosing a blue piece, I allowed the bubble to turn me back into my normal clothes. Neither of the boys said anything at the explosion of color I caused and just continued in silence. I knew there was going to be a lot of explaining tonight.

We had told Ray the basics of the situation with Kyle and Kayden. That they were family friends gone wrong and Kyle's failed attempt at murder. We didn't know what their motives were for me, for _the team_.

I shoved the door open as soon as the car was in park. I wanted nothing more than to go hibernate for a month, or a year even. Junk-N-Stuff was locked up for the night and I didn't have my keys so it seemed I was taking the tubes down. They weren't the worst things ever but I just preferred the elevator.

"Hold up," Ray's strict tone stopped me before I stepped on the tube pad. He looked at me and pointed back at Henry, "You two need to talk before you go down there. I'll see you guys down there when you're done, okay?"

I sighed and nodded, dropping my gaze to the ground again. Ray patted Henry's shoulder before walking towards me. He stepped on the tube pad before grabbing my arm. "Joce, go easy on him, okay? He already got an earful from us about her before."

I gave him a small smile before he disappeared into the Man Cave. Henry was immediately in front of me, pulling me into a hug. I returned the gesture and buried myself in his uniform. I could feel him rest his chin on my head as he squeezed me tighter.

"You're nothing like what he said, you know that?"

I shook my head before leaning it against his shoulder. "There's a lot about that statement of his that's right, Hen. He knew that. It's why he said it. He knew it would hurt."

Henry let out a breath, "I should've told you about Veronika."

I let go of him and took a step back, "You shouldn't have to. I didn't tell you about Kayden. There's a lot of our pasts that we haven't shared, babe. It's a learning experience. I just wish she wouldn't have talked about you the way she did."

"Yeah, me too. She's exactly that, Joce. She's the past. The only thing I want for the future is you."

"Cheesy," I smiled up at him but pushed myself up on my tiptoes to kiss him regardless. His arm wrapped around my lower back to stabilize me before we broke apart. "I love you, Henry."

He froze for a second at my words. Henry and I had been together for over a year now and we hadn't said those three words to each other. Call it spur of the moment or whatever, but I meant every single word.

"I love you too, Jocelyn Adams." He smiled down at me as his hands rested on my cheeks. "I love everything about you, even the things you don't love about yourself, those especially. You're my everything, princess."

My cheeks went pink at his confession as I pulled him back into a hug. We stood there for a minute or two before deciding on heading down to the Man Cave. Ray would want an explanation, that was a definite. We owed it to him too.

As soon as we landed in the Man Cave, Ray and Charlotte turned to face us. I had forgotten she was down here since earlier today. I smiled at them as Henry transformed back into his normal clothes.

"Well, there's no tears so that's a good sign," Charlotte teased as she spun around in her chair.

"Funny, Char. Really." Henry brushed off her comment as he sat down on the couch.

The dark haired girl shrugged at me before standing up, "Alright, I'm out of here. I've got some cookies to bake."

"Bring me some!" I shouted at her as she walked in the elevator.

"You and you alone, Joce." She smiled as the doors closed.

I turned back towards Ray and Henry to see the former giving me a stern look. I sighed and moved to sit next to my boyfriend. Henry's arm rested on my shoulder as he lightly traced patterns in my skin.

"Mind telling me what that whole deal was?" Ray crossed his arms as he bit into a chicken wing.

"Kayden used to be my best friend," I started, "His brother tried to kill me when we were little and that's why he moved away."

Ray dropped his empty wing to pick up a napkin, "Well, way to be blunt, Jocelyn."

I shrugged and sank lower in my seat. "Kyle's back for revenge, I guess. He used to work for my mom and he's finishing whatever she left."

Ray nodded before shifting his gaze to Henry, "And you? I don't think I've ever seen Kid Danger that angry since we fought the Wall Dogs for the _first_ time."

"He's making me angry, that's all. This kid has tried to tear us to pieces, Ray. Enough is enough." Henry stole a wing despite Ray's protests.

"Agreed. We'll be careful these next few weeks. As always, let us know if there's anything suspicious and we'll figure it out. And Jocelyn," I looked up at Ray, "You're not a disappointment. That kid was wrong, _way wrong_ , about you. Believe me."

I nodded, "Thanks, Ray."

He gave me a curt nod in return. The boys continued eating as more casual, fun conversation started up. Ray, whether he knew it or not, had become a second parent to us. He knew when to take charge and he certainly understood that we were still kids, we were bound to make mistakes. Regardless, he was always there for us. That was more than we could ask for, especially now. All we needed, was someone to tell us we weren't falling apart and maybe, just maybe, we would be okay.


	15. chapter fourteen - storm

_**song for the chapter - you and i (stripped) by pvris**_

Another day without any information about Kyle or Kayden. I had yet to see Kayden since our confrontation about two weeks ago but I wasn't complaining. Whatever they were planning, was going to be a disaster.

"Lucky! Let's go outside." I opened the back door as he went sprinting out past me. His long legs carried him gracefully as he walked through the yard. He was much bigger than he used to be. He had grown insanely quick and was now to the height of my knees.

I watched him run after a squirrel before my attention dropped to my phone. Henry, Charlotte, and Jasper were supposed to be coming over for movie night anytime soon. Dad was on a business trip this weekend and Jackson was on a road trip with friends so I had the house to myself. I already had the inside set up and the front door was unlocked for my friends to come in.

"Lucky!" I jumped to my feet as he leaped our wire fence and took off into the forest. I sighed and stood up from the steps to run after him. I climbed over the fence and took off in the direction of his paw prints. "Come here!"

I heard a whimper and then barking to my right and jogged that way, half expecting him to be stuck by a branch or something. I found him jumping at whatever was in the tree. "Lucky, no."

I reached out to grab his collar and pull him away but something wrapped around my arm and yanked me back. An arm secured itself around my chest as I screamed, alerting Lucky instantly. He ran towards whoever was holding me but was kicked away.

"Hey! Don't hurt him!" I elbowed whoever was holding me in the gut as their grip released. I spun around, my hand immediately going to my watch from Ray. "What are you doing here?"

The person in front of me was none other than Kayden, dressed in all black with a rag in his hand. "Look, Jocelyn, just make this easy for me, please?"

"Make what easy?" I looked at him, terrified, as Lucky positioned himself in front of me. He was growling constantly at my ex-best friend.

"Kayden, you had one job!" Another voice shouted from behind me before a hand covered my mouth. I screamed anyway and struggled against their grip. I watched with wide eyes as Kayden tossed the towel to whoever was holding me. They removed their hand for a split second only to cover it back up with the piece of fabric.

I knew better than to breathe in at this point. I was pressing the emergency button on my watch like crazy, hoping one of the boys were paying attention for _once_ in their lives. My dog took off running as Kayden sprayed him with something, leaving me alone in the woods with the set of brothers.

A piece of black fabric covered my eyes, hiding the world from view. I was still breathing strictly through my nose as it wasn't covered. I tried to focus my powers on whoever was behind me. I heard a grunt as they slammed into the tree, the rag dropping from my mouth.

"Grab her!" Two other sets of hands latched on my arms and neck as I was pushed into a tree myself. A gasp escaped my lips as it dug into my back painfully.

"Not cool!" I shouted as one of them kicked the back of my knees, making me fall to the ground. I felt my hands get pulled behind me and secured with what felt like a zip-tie. I stopped struggling at that point, knowing without my vision and hands, my escape would be futile.

One of my attackers yanked me to my feet before the cloth was back on my mouth. I screamed again and kicked backwards, mentally cheering as my foot connected with a body. The cloth didn't fall this time however, and I felt a piece of duct tape secure it to my face. I shook my head vigorously in an attempt to get it off.

"That's it." I heard movement on my left before a piercing pain shot up through my leg, making me collapse to the ground.. I screamed as I was reduced to tears instantly, all struggle stopping. _That was definitely a broken ankle_. "I'm finishing this."

I could hear myself breathing heavily over everything else. My watch was unstrapped from my wrist and tossed somewhere in the woods. I couldn't stop crying. How could Kayden let this happen? I never did anything to him without him making the first move and he helps his brother in kidnapping me?

My thoughts were cut off as someone pinched my nose shut. They were forcing me to breathe in the chloroform in the rag. I held my breathe for as long as I could. I could hear shouting in the distance as I was finally forced to take a deep breath through my mouth. My world turned hazy and I could feel myself slipping away. I felt my body go numb beneath me before everything turned black.

 _Headache. Instant headache. Like someone dropped a stack of textbooks on my head. Damn it, Jasper._

 _Okay not books. What happened? My morning..I had a bagel for breakfast and told Henry and Char I would meet them at work. Then I let Lucky out and he jumped the fence. Then Kayden was there and..._

My eyes finally opened but it didn't do anything for me. The room was dark and I couldn't see further than my nose. I sighed and stood up, immediately hissing in pain at my ankle. I tried to walk forward but slammed into something. I cursed and grabbed my nose as I stepped back lightly.

 _Glass, great._

Suddenly, the ground beneath me turned a bright white before all the lights flickered on in the room. I could finally see my surroundings. I was in a tube, kind of like the ones in the Man Cave but it was connected to a glowing base.

"I'm so not down for being a test subject," I mumbled as I placed my hands on the glass. I focused on its interior, the individual pieces. I could feel the energy surge through my body as my hands turned a blue color, radiating with my powers. The base below me was glowing a bright white but suddenly turned a shade of blue. I ignored it at first and I regained focus. I could see cracks starting to form in my containment.

"Activate."

The simple word sent an electric current through the glass, taking its effects on my body. A scream escaped my lips as I slammed against the back of the tube. My fingers were stinging with pain from the burn. I rubbed my head, disoriented. When my eyes finally focused, I could see Kyle standing in front of me, a smirk filling his face.

"Like it? Newest technology all thanks to your mother. She didn't leave us without anything, that's for sure." Kyle ran his hands across one of the sleek lab tables. There were two other tubes just like mine on each side, the bases glowing white instead of blue.

"Wh-what was that?" I choked out.

Kyle stepped forward and crouched down in front of me so we were eye to eye. "New upgrade. Instead of just normal glass, this one is programmed to deflect your powers. Worked better than I thought it would." He tapped the glass with his knuckles lightly.

"What do you want, Kyle?" I pushed myself to my knees. If I was going down, I wasn't about to do it in fear.

He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "Calm down. Who said I wanted anything?"

I scoffed and crossed my arms, "So you just kidnapped me to say hi?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe. Or maybe you're just playing bait."

"Wait what?" My eyes widened at his words. He nodded.

"I need Captain Man out of the way. In order to get him, I have to get you and that stupid Kid Danger first." He turned to walk towards one of the white tables.

"He's _not_ stupid," I defended.

Kyle laughed as he picked up a tool on the table. "Right, boyfriend. I forgot."

My jaw dropped. "How did you..?"

"I'm not dumb, Jocelyn. It wasn't hard to piece it together, especially after the whole hospital incident. You guys need to cover your tracks better."

I sighed and leaned against the glass keeping me from the outside world. This kid was going to annoy me beyond words and I was going to go mental just from him and his stupid secrets. I could only hope Ray and Henry were tracking my watch. Even if it was in the forest, they'd know I was missing and be looking. They were the only chance I had at this point.

"Are you done talking to yourself?"

I looked up at Kyle as I realized I had been whispering everything. I flipped him off before crossing my legs in front of me. My ankle was throbbing dully and I could see a large bruise covering my skin. It was swollen severely and tender to the touch. I was defenseless, useless, and most definitely trapped. Those were things I knew for sure.

"No need to be rude. Once your boyfriend and boss get here, that's when the fun will start." Kyle smirked at my worried expression.

"You're not going to lay a finger on them," I growled as I glared at him.

He faked a pout and came closer to me again. A red ball was in his hand as he tossed it back and forth. "Watch me."

As soon as he was inches from the tube, he tossed the ball at it. To my shock, it passed right through the glass and landed in my lap. I scrambled up as best as I could and pressed myself against the back of the tube.

"One way containment, kiddo. And it's just a normal ball, chill. I'll be back later." He turned on his heels and walked away from me.

I let out the breath I was holding, shocked by the fact that I wasn't dead yet. The room was completely silent, quiet enough that you could hear a pin drop. I sighed and sat back down, tossing the ball between my hands.

Unwillingly, I felt myself tear up. Everything had gone from good to awful since I joined the team. First the whole issue with Kayden, then Kyle, and now it wasn't getting any better. I just wanted everything back to before they moved here.

I curled up into myself, leaning my head against the wall. Everything was catching up to me at this point, the stress, the emotions. A sob escaped my lips as tears streamed down my cheeks. I was a mess, mentally. I had been tearing myself apart ever since the breakup with Henry and I was just starting to get better but now? Now who knows what was going to happen.


	16. chapter fifteen - missing

_**i won't give up by jason mraz**_

 _in the man cave a few minutes before_

 _henry hart's point of view_

"Henry, come on. We're going to be late to Jocelyn's."

Charlotte had been pestering me for the past ten minutes. On the way to Joce's house, I forgot I left my phone at work and we had to turn back around. Now, we were in the middle of a ping pong tournament that was _incredibly intense_ if I do say so.

"Char, just text her and tell her we'll be late." I brushed off her hint and continued to whack the ball back towards Ray. He brought his leg up and hit the ball from under it before readjusting. I wasn't about to let him win again.

"Henry, just forfeit. She's probably waiting on you," Ray smirked as we kept battling back and forth.

I scoffed, "And let you win? Not a chance."

Jasper stood on the side and watched the ball fly back and forth, his eyes following its every move. He looked possessed with his head turning from one way to the other so quickly. Charlotte wasn't having anything to do with our tournament, obviously.

"Now she's not answering. Do you think she's mad? I don't want her to be mad!" Charlotte stood up and walked towards us, "Alright, you two are done." She reached across the table to stop the ping pong ball from flying to the other side.

"Char, I'm sure she's fine. She's a grown girl with telekinetic powers, I don't think she's going to go missing if we're late." I crossed my arms and leaned against the table.

Suddenly, a loud alarm sounded through the Man Cave as the emergency alert went off. We all scrambled towards the desk with Charlotte getting there first. Her eyes scanned the screen before she started freaking out.

"You jinxed us! You jinxed us, you jinxed us, you _jinxed us!_ "

Ray looked at her oddly before slamming his hand on a button to quiet the alarm, "Chill out, what's the deal?"

"The _deal,_ " Charlotte hissed, "Is that Jocelyn's watch is sending off emergency signals because _she's in trouble!_ "

I instantly reached for my gumballs and shoved one in my mouth. An array of colors flooded my vision as I turned in to Kid Danger. I could see Ray do the same next to me. Charlotte was tracking Jocelyn's location as we changed.

"She's in the forest behind her house. Let's go!" Char practically kicked the chair over as she sprinted towards the elevator with Jasper on her heels. Ray and I took towards the tube pad. As soon as the glass surrounded us, Ray called out for the tubes to take us up.

Charlotte and Jasper ran past us as we stepped off the tube pads. I immediately took off after them with Ray behind me. Time seemed to move in slow motion before Jocelyn's house finally came into view. I skipped the front door and jumped the fence.

"Lucky!" The dog was on the opposite side of the fence, whimpering loudly. I climbed over towards him, running my hand through his fur. "It's okay."

Charlotte fell to her knees next to me and took over comforting the large dog. "You guys go in. We'll wait out here."

Ray and I nodded before taking off into the forest. I tried to follow the muddy footsteps as far as I could but they eventually disappeared under the leaves. Ray was right behind me the whole time, checking behind us ever so often.

We continued walking until I heard a low beeping noise. I froze for a second before I caught a reflection of glass out of the corner of my eye. I walked towards a tree before I spotted Jocelyn's watch on the ground. I clicked the button on the side to stop the beeping before standing back up.

"Jocelyn!" My shout echoed back at me with no response from my girlfriend. A pit settled in my stomach as I realized she was really gone. "Ray, where is she?"

"I don't know, Kid. We'll find her though."

I shook my head as I realized the gravity of the situation, "Ray, they actually got her. Kayden said they weren't giving up and they obviously knew where she lived so they came and they-"

"Kid. Henry, _Henry_." Ray stepped around me and grabbed my shoulders, "You're rambling, Kid. It's going to be fine. We'll find her, I promise."

I took a deep breath as I twisted her watch in my hands. I should've listened when Charlotte said to leave. Maybe Jocelyn would still be here.

Ray stepped back to observe our surroundings. There was a tree with a chunk of bark missing, as if someone got slammed into it. Signs of struggle were everywhere and I could only hope Jocelyn got out of this unharmed.

"Well," Ray ran his fingers down the side of the tree, "If she was here, she put up a good fight."

I stood there for a minute in silence. I kept trying to listen for anything, even just the tiniest noise, that would give us a hint. She had to be close. She had to be _okay_.

"Hey."

Charlotte's voice made me snap my head up as she walked in with Jasper and Lucky next to her. She could tell by the look on my face that I wasn't happy and Jocelyn was still missing. Jasper wrapped an arm around her shoulder and whispered something in her ear.

Lucky made his way towards me as I kneeled down to pet him. Without Joce here, he seemed lost, like he didn't know what to do. Since day one, Jocelyn had a connection with Lucky. I wouldn't be surprised if he was out here when she got taken.

"How'd you guys find us so fast?" Ray looked down at me before facing Charlotte.

Jasper shrugged, "The dog did. Probably followed your scent. They're incredibly smart, you know? They can hear really well and-"

"Wait," I cut Jasper off, "Say that again."

He looked at me, confused, "They're incredibly smart?"

I shook my head, "Before that."

"The dog did?"

"No!" I huffed, "In the middle."

"Oh," Jasper nodded, "He followed your scent."

I nodded and rubbed Lucky's back. "I know how we're going to find her."

I didn't say anything else as I stood up and starting running back towards the house. I heard Lucky bark before taking off after me, leaving everyone to follow us. Jocelyn's back door was open, allowing me to walk right in. I could see all of the food and drinks set up for us. Blankets were piled on the air mattress that was in front of the television.

"Why'd you run?" Jasper panted as he walked in the door. Ray and Charlotte came in after him, both out of breath.

I ignored them as I walked over to the couch. My hoodie was laying across the back of it. I picked it up before spinning on my heels and walking towards my friend. They looked at me confused.

"Isn't that your hoodie?" Ray pointed at the material in my hand as I grabbed Lucky's leash from the counter and clipped it on.

"Yep."

"Then how is that going to help?" Charlotte threw her hands out for emphasis.

"German Shepherds are known for being police dogs right?" They all nodded. "They track drugs, bombs, and anything else so who's to say they can't track _people_ too?"

I saw Charlotte's eyes light up as she realized my plan. "We can use Jocelyn's scent on the sweatshirt for Lucky to track her. Henry, that's genius!"

I let Lucky dig his nose into the piece of fabric in my hand as I smiled. "Yeah, well, when it comes to protecting my girlfriend, I'm all kinds of ideas."

Ray moved to lock the back door as I stood back up. We all walked out the front door with Lucky leading the way before stopping at the end of the driveway. I clutched the fabric tightly in my hands, feeling as if it was the only thing that could possibly save Jocelyn at this point.

"Alright boy," I leaned down to rub Lucky's head one last time and let him sniff the sweatshirt again. "Find Jocelyn."

As I stood up, he barked before leaning his nose to the ground. He moved in a circle for a minute before he started running down the sidewalk. A smile broke out on my face as he pulled me along.

 _Hang on, princess. We're coming._


	17. chapter sixteen - revenge

_**song for the chapter - because of you by kelly clarkson**_

I couldn't tell what time of day it was anymore. The room was always black. It was always dark except for my containment which glowed a bright blue. Kyle rarely came in to talk to me and I hadn't see Kayden since before I woke up here.

At this point, boredom had taken over my time. I felt like I had been here forever and it probably hadn't been that long. My brain went wandering nonstop. There was always the idea that Henry didn't know I was gone. As much as I tried to think around that, it always came back that I wasn't ever going to get out of here.

I was snapped out of my thoughts as half of the room lit up. The only thing left dark was the walls as Kyle stepped in the door. I stood up and leaned against the glass to keep weight off my ankle. He looked absolutely smug as he walked towards me. I watched as he reached in his pocket and pulled out a remote before pressing a button. Suddenly, the glass surrounding me disappeared. I didn't bother trying to leave. My ankle was going to be an obstacle in escaping.

"Jocelyn, nice to see you again." Kyle smirked as he stopped walking a few feet away from me.

I crossed my arms, not bothering to let my guard down, "Funny, Kyle. Wish I could say the same to you."

"I have a little proposition for you," Kyle rubbed his hands together. "We can play a little game, if you'd like."

Noticing his tone, I decided to play along. "And what does this game include?"

He shrugged and began pacing back and forth. "I have some past friends of yours here today. If you can manage to get rid of them by yourself, you can go free. If not, you'll remain here until my plan is complete. What do you say?"

I thought over his words from every line, attempting to see where the loophole was. I knew I wasn't in fighting condition, especially with my lack of food and water on top of my injuries. I could handle a lot of things with the addition of my powers so it wouldn't hurt to try."

"Fine. Who is it?" I looked at Kyle expectantly. I was hoping it was someone petty and easy like Jeff.

He shook his head as he laughed quietly, "I can't tell you just yet but I'm positive they'd love to see _Jay_ more than Jocelyn."

I squinted at him as I popped a gumball in my mouth. Depending on who he had here, it would be safer if I wasn't dressed normally. The explosions of colors left me in my uniform. Kyle walked towards me and reached to yank my weapons off my waist before stepping back.

"Come in, guys."

My wishes were crushed as the rest of the lights flickered on to reveal who else was entering the room. Majority of the villains that had been against Captain Man and Kid Danger lined the walls. People like the Time Jerker, Van Del, Dr. Minyak and even Gwen had showed up. The one person that caught my eye was leaned against the door with their arms crossed. They knew I was looking at them as they smirked.

Henry and Ray had warned me about Drex when I first joined the team. It was one of the very reasons Henry's superpower had come in handy. Before Henry could control his superpower, Drex had showed up and caused all the drama. It took Henry a few days to gain control and he gave up being a hero at one point but in the end, he won.

I knew Drex was dangerous. If there was anyone that was going to take me out today, it would be him. It wouldn't take long either. I knew I was outnumbered. The closest shot I had at this was definitely defending myself, not throwing myself into the mass of villains.

"They seemed to have some unfinished business with you and your friends. Good luck, Jay. Hope to see you in one piece." Kyle waved before leaving me alone with all my enemies.

I stepped off the base and backed into the wall. "So, hey guys. Um, how about we bust out of here and go get some froyo or something?"

"And miss a shot at revenge? You're crazy," Gwen said as they all advanced forward.

"Yeah," I mumbled, "I figured you would say that."

I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and immediately threw my hands over my head. As I was hoping, a glowing blue shield surrounded me. Drill Finger had jumped at me with his newly fixed finger spinning rapidly. The others saw that as a chance and began attacking as well. Paintballs were nothing against the shield, as expected but what I was worried about were the blasters that the others were holding. Of course Kyle would give them weapons.

"Come on! You can get your revenge at a different time. Isn't it a little mean to gang up on just one person?" I attempted to reason with them.

Van Del scoffed, "You're hilarious, kid. This is the perfect revenge for Captain Man and Kid Danger."

I looked at them confused, "How?"

"Kid Danger loses a girlfriend, Captain Man loses a sidekick and I get a pretty set of teeth. How much better could it get?" Drill Finger pressed harder into the shield. It would be easier to fight them one on one than all at the same time. I knew I was going to have to fight eventually.

I looked around the room one more time before pulling my hands back to drop the shield. A few of the guys came running at me instantly. I took off running as best as I could and slid on the ground between Dr. Minyak and Nurse Cohort. The duo turned to face me, both weapons powering on.

I moved my right hand up to hover over them before moving it to the side. They went flying into the opposite wall with a thud. I formed a sphere in between my palms before throwing that at Van Del and the Time Jerker. The bubble wrapped around them and floated upwards, moving them out of my way for now.

I dropped to the ground as a shot from Gwen's weapon flew past my head. She was moving quickly with terrifyingly accurate aim. I used my powers to pull her weapon towards me and counterattacked. She took off running, dropping my number of attackers. Drex hid in the corner but I could see him watching my every move. He was a smart one which made him difficult.

The Phone Shark was next on my list as he came running at me from the side. Once he was close, I spun around and stuck my good ankle out, causing him to fall face first to the floor. To my satisfaction, his teeth got stuck in the floor, knocking him out of the fight.

"Ha," I laughed at his situation, "Karma."

"Try this for karma!"

My legs were swept out from underneath me, causing pain to shoot up my ankle again. I winced and tried to push myself up but a foot on my back stopped me. I looked over my shoulder but didn't see anyone there.

"What the hell?" I twisted under the weight of whatever was keeping me down and stood back up. Nobody was near me at all. "Weird."

"Not weird." A voice whispered in my ear and made me jump.

I turned in a circle, trying to figure out where the noise was coming from. "Quit that!"

"Come on!" Drex shouted from across the room.

Suddenly, I was forced against the lab table behind me. I groaned before reaching my good ankle up to shove the person in the stomach. _Invisible?_ Whatever it was retaliated by throwing a punch into my cheek. I grasped and covered the spot as I felt my mouth begin to bleed.

"Hey! You can't punch a girl!" I complained.

"Watch me." The voice was by my ear again before I found myself flying towards the center of the room. I landed with a harsh thud, my body aching with the action. I tried to roll over and pull myself up but someone nailed me in the side with a blaster. I curled up, attempting to protect myself even a little bit but it wasn't helping.

"Oh, don't tell me the little sidekick gave up that easily." Gwen teased as her foot nudged me onto my back. I sucked in a breath as my back connected with the floor again.

 _Yeah something's broken._

"S-stop it." I choked out.

Drex's face was suddenly in front of mine, "Aw how cute. The little wimp is crying for mercy."

"I am not a whimp," I tried to sound confident with my reply but failed.

Drex laughed and leaned closer before wrapping his hand around my ankle. I cried out and tried to pull my leg back but he squeezed tighter. "You're right, Jocelyn. That's because you're a _failure_ instead. I mean, how can Captain Man have a sidekick like this if she can't even handle a little damage."

I took a deep breath before pushing myself to my feet. Drex looked shocked at the action but quickly covered his expression. I pushed my hands in front of me again as he was thrown back a few steps. He growled at me before taking off running and pushing me back against the wall again. I winced at his actions but landed a punch on his cheek before I kicked his feet out from under him.

I started to run but his hand wrapped around my ankle and tugged me down. I didn't stay down long before getting back up and running right into something. I yelped and rubbed my forehead. Nothing was in front of me.

My arm was yanked behind me painfully as Drex pulled me back towards him. "Jay, meet Invisible Brad."

I groaned and threw my head back. "Great. An invisible villain. Just what I need."

"Oh sweetie," Gwen chuckled as she walked towards me, her weapon powering up in her hand. Dr. Minyak was right behind her along with Van Del and Nurse Cohort. I looked to the side to see Drill Finger standing up from his spot. With Drex's grip on my arm as well as the exhaustion starting to set in, I knew I was done for.

"Guys, please. We can settle this a different way, I promise. It doesn't have to-"

"Mm, yes it does." Kyle stepped back into the room, my laser remote gripped tightly in his hand.

"No, Kyle-" My eyes widened as I saw the device in his hand. _C'mon, please work._ "We can all get back on _track_ if you just let me help you!"

"I'm following your mother's plans, Jay. She wanted to take over Swellview which means Captain Man and Kid Danger need to be out of the way. Now that you're on the team, you need to be taken care of too."

I laughed, "Captain Man's indestructible. You can't get rid of him."

"No," Drex piped up from behind me, "But just like you, we can take away his powers."

Dr. Minyak stepped forward, "Nurse Cohort and I have enough of the Jolly Beetle spray to finish the job."

"No, no, no. Look, you have me, that's enough. You don't need to drag Captain Man and Kid Danger into this-"

"Too late, sweetheart. They're already looking for you. It's only a matter of time before they get here and fall into our little trap."

"Please!" My eyes swelled with tears at the thought of losing my best friends, _my family_. I couldn't lead them right into this. "Just leave them alone."

The room fell silent as I could hear the whine of the weapons surrounding me. "Sweet dreams, Jay."

With Drex's final words, I was blasted from all sides. A scream left my mouth as I collapsed on the ground. It didn't stop there. Black dots flooded my vision as the attacks continued and finally, my world disappeared from view altogether.


	18. chapter seventeen - help

_**song for the chapter - the edge of tonight by all time low**_

"Joce. C'mon, Jay. I need you to wake up."

Whoever was shaking me needed to stop right now. Everything hurt. My mind was fuzzy and I felt like I couldn't breathe. The person kept moving me until I blinked repeatedly. To my shock, Kayden was staring down at me, a terrified expression on his face.

"Try and sit up for me." Kayden grabbed my waist to help pull me up against the wall. We were still in the main lab area but it was completely empty except for the two of us.

"W-what-?" I tried to talk but my voice cracked and gave out.

Kayden shook his head. "Don't talk. I think you over-stretched your vocal chords. You'll be fine in a few days. Here," He handed me the tube of gumballs. "I need you to change back."

I followed his request and popped the bubble. My normal clothes were dirty and torn up a bit from the scuffle in the forest. Kayden held out a set of clean ones. I gave him a confused look.

"When we got you in the forest, Kyle brought you back here while I lagged behind. I figured you'd need these eventually and grabbed them off your bed. I didn't mean for it to be weird, I promise. I'm just trying to help."

I nodded in a form of 'it's okay' but it didn't do much. I reached forward and grabbed the clothes from his hand as he turned around to give me privacy. I unfolded the clothes, a smile tugging at my lips as I realized which ones he grabbed. Henry's _Swellview High Basketball_ hoodie rested on top along with a pair of leggings. I'm pretty sure I owned all of Henry's hoodies at this point but they were all so comfy and smelled just like him, a fall mixture of pumpkin and cinnamon. I pulled the fabric over my head slowly, wincing at the pull on my sore skin.

The shirt was the easy part. Jeans on the other hand, were going to be my enemy. I pulled them off gently before pulling the leggings up, relaxing at the softer material. I tossed my ruined clothes somewhere in the corner before sitting back against the wall. I nudged Kayden with my foot, telling him I was ready.

He spun back around and gave me a sad smile. "I cleaned up most of the bad stuff before you woke up but I'm almost positive that you broke a rib when you landed. Oh and your ankle's definitely broken. I wrapped it because that's the best we could do right now but you'll need to get it checked eventually."

I opened my mouth to reply but nothing came out. Kayden noticed the struggle and handed over his phone. It was opened to the notes section, allowing me to type out my responses.

 _Why are you helping me?_

Kayden read my note before sighing. "I feel awful, Jocelyn. I tried everything to talk Kyle out of this, trust me. Regardless of what happened, I still look to you as a sibling. I know it's not returned, especially after what I did, but I promise. It was all an act. I had to get warnings to you as fake threats somehow. I swear on my life I wouldn't do it if I didn't have to."

I pulled the phone back before typing again.

 _What happened after I passed out?_

"They weren't stopping anytime soon. Eventually, I ran in and cut them off but it took a lot of persuasion, especially on Kyle. He wasn't done yet, apparently but I told him the plan wouldn't work if you were dead. I thought you _were,_ Jocelyn. You looked dead and I thought it was all my fault."

I nodded at his explanation. I didn't think I could trust Kayden this easily. I knew he reasoning was believable but I needed proof that he wasn't faking. I couldn't let my guard down this easily, not after everything else.

"They're almost here, Jocelyn. Your dog's smart, that's for sure. I'm guessing your remote also has a tracking device?" Kayden raised an eyebrow as I nodded, "Smart. It activated as soon as you told it too and they're closer than before. Your two friends, Charlotte and Jasper, are hanging behind."

I gave him a thumbs up. The less danger my friends were in, the better. I'm just glad the remote picked up the activation word. I didn't know if it was going to work or not. I knew with Henry and Ray, I had a shot at getting out of here, all of us.

Kayden slid over a tray of food. It had a sandwich, some fruit and a bottle of water. I immediately picked it up and bit into it. Regardless of what was on it, I was starving. My body needed to heal from the beating it took and food was necessary for that process.

"It's not much," Kayden smiled at me, "But it's the least I could do, for now. Is it okay if I move you back? I told Kyle I would."

I knew he meant back to the stupid glass tube but nodded anyway. For some reason, I felt like I would be safer in there than out in the open, especially with my condition. Kayden scooped me up in his arms, food and all, before setting me down on the middle base again. As soon as he stepped off the platform, the glass walls returned to their positions on all sides of me. I leaned back against one as Kayden started out of the room.

"It'll all work out, Joce. I promise." He gave me a small smile before walking out of the room, leaving me in silence. I sighed and continued to munch on my food, hoping that Henry and Ray would get out of here and we could _all_ leave, safe and sound.

 _henry's point of view_

We had followed Jocelyn's dog for about an hour before stopping to take a break. Lucky was a dog after all and he made mistakes so our path wasn't perfect. About twenty minutes after we stopped, the tracking device in her remote kicked in. Jasper and Charlotte agreed to hang back with the dog once we got closer.

Currently, Ray and I were standing in front of a large white building. It looked like a science lab, if we were honest. Jocelyn's signal was right inside. The challenge would be getting inside without everyone in the building finding out.

"Let's go through the window." Ray pointed towards the basement window that was left open. I nodded and crawled through first. My feet landed on concrete as I jumped down. It was definitely a storage area which made me question why the window was open but I didn't say anything.

"Kid, a little help?" Ray stretched his arms out to me.

I rolled my eyes, "What did I tell you about eating all those chicken wings?" I wrapped my hands around his wrists and pulled until both of us fell on the floor in a jumbled mess of limbs.

"I _do not_ eat too many chicken wings. You're just weak," Ray defended as he brushed himself off. "Now, let's find a way out of this room."

I went towards the lightest part of the room, hoping there would be a source of light that led to the hallway or something. Nothing seemed to lead out of the storage room. I kicked the wall in frustration. Ray jumped at the noise and hit his head on the overhead beam.

"Geez, Kid. I'm okay."

I groaned, "Jocelyn could be dead by now and you're the indestructible superhero whining because he bumped his head."

 _"Psst."_

Ray and I both yelled and spun around to see Kayden shining a flashlight in our eyes. Anger overtook my surprise as I started stomping towards him. His eyes widened as he took a step back.

"Dude hang on. Just listen for a second-"

I dismissed his comment and shoved him into a stack of boxes behind him. "I don't have to listen to you. Where is she?"

Kayden took a deep breath, "I'll help you, I promise. Just let go."

I stared him down for a second before taking a step back and letting him go. He rubbed the back of his neck. I rolled my eyes. Obviously he wasn't in a rush to help us.

"Thank you. Now," Kayden turned on his heels and started walking away from us. I glanced at Ray before running after the teen. He shushed us before twisting open a door handle to reveal the hallway. "Go right and there's a door on the left side, end of the hall. She's in there. Don't touch anything or else the alarms will go off. I need to cut the security system and then I'll meet you guys in there, okay?"

Ray and I nodded before starting to walk down the hallway. I stopped halfway and turned back to Kayden. The kid had a change in heart somewhere or else he was faking everything. I wasn't sure which it was but I was grateful beyond words for his help.

"Kayden?" I whispered, prompting him to turn around, "Thank you."

He gave me a subtle nod before taking off the other way. I turned on my heels and followed Ray. We stopped in front of the door that supposedly held Jocelyn. Second guessing came in and I suddenly doubted Kayden's directions. What if it was a set up and we had been tricked?

"She'll be fine, Henry. Come on," Ray nudged my shoulder. I sighed before twisting the door handle and pushing.

The room was all white under the florescent lights. Lab tables were scattered across the room but what caught my eye were the three tubes in the center of the room. Each was glowing white except the one in the middle. It was a bright blue and it was the only one that wasn't empty.

Forgetting that Ray was watching my every move, I took off running towards the center. I stopped right in front of the glass, my eyes focused on the person inside. Jocelyn looked exhausted. I don't know if she could hear us, or see us for that matter.

I kneeled down, my hands pressing against the glass gently. She looked up, her eyes widening as she recognized who was in the room. She shifted like she was going to move but winced and forced a smile at me.

"Are you okay?" I asked as Ray kneeled down next to me. Jocelyn shrugged in response. "I'll take that as a no."

"Jocelyn, what happened?"

She looked back up at us and opened her mouth but didn't say anything. I gave her a confused look. She sighed and started moving her hands.

"Ooh! Charades. I love this game!" Ray clapped his hands together excitedly.

Jocelyn rolled her eyes and slumped back against the glass. I pushed Ray. "Dude, I don't think she can talk."

"Oh," Ray nodded in understanding, "Makes sense."

"So yes or no questions only. That we can do. Is Kyle here?" Jocelyn nodded at my question. "Okay, I figured. Um..is Kayden on our side now?"

Jocelyn shrugged again. She probably had the same concerns we did about being tricked. Plus, who knows what happened while she was here without us. We needed to get out of here fast before someone caught us.

"We need to break the glass-"

"No!" Ray cut me off, "We'll set off the alarms if we break anything down here and then we'll really be in trouble. We have to wait for Kayden to shut off the security alarms."

Jocelyn shifted at the name of her past friend. She gritted her teeth and grabbed her ankle but moved to kneel on her knees. Ray stood up to go look around the room, leaving me to talk to Joce.

"I know you're hurt." She gave me a guilty smile in return. "You had me worried, Joce. I didn't even know where to start to look. Lucky's half the reason we made it here until you turned on your tracker."

She nodded and pressed her hand up against the glass, mirroring the position of mine. The room fell into silence except for Ray's footsteps. Where the heck was Kayden?

Suddenly, the door flung open. I turned around as Ray froze in his spot. A clapping sound filled the room as none other than Kyle stepped in, Kayden behind him with a guilty look on his face.

"Kyle?" I stood up, blocking Jocelyn from view. Ray looked between me and Kyle before grabbing the weapon that was on his belt.

"Bravo, Kid Danger. You found us. How impressive." Kyle smirked as he stopped a few feet from me.

I clenched my jaw. "Let her go."

Kyle laughed, "Mm how about no? You two walked right into my trap."

I moved to attack him but something hit me from the side, knocking me straight into the wall. I groaned and rubbed my head.

"What are you doing here?"

Ray didn't sound happy as I opened my eyes. Jocelyn was hitting the glass as hard as she could while someone joined Kyle in the middle of the room. I stood up, my eyes widened in shock.

"Long time no see, Kid Danger." Drex crossed his arms at my shocked expression. Ray joined my side as we moved closer to the duo. Jocelyn looked absolutely panicked behind me as we stopped in front of Drex.

"What do you want?" I clenched my fists at my sides.

Drex brushed invisible dust off his shoulders. "We are _tired_ of being thrown in jail again and again. So, naturally, Jocelyn's mom held a meeting and told us of her plan to get rid of Captain Man. At the time, he worked alone until you and little miss dramatic over there. The only way to get rid of him was to take away his super power. Which we can _do_."

Kyle waved a spray bottle in front of Ray's face tauntingly. Ray took a step back before glaring at Kyle. They had this planned out top to bottom.

"Why do you need Jocelyn then?" I glanced back at my girlfriend to see her watching us.

Kyle shrugged, "Finish what I started. A failed experiment from a while ago needs to be completed."

"Whatever grudge you have is with me, Drex. Leave these kids alone." Ray stepped in front of me slightly. I saw Kayden move towards one of the desks, his fingers tapping away at the buttons. I glanced back at Jocelyn to see her nod slightly. _Kayden was trying to get her out._

"Grudge, smudge. This is all new, Captain Man. We're in it to win it, now." Drex cracked his knuckles and took a step towards us again. I saw Kyle move out of the corner of my eye. Immediately, I moved and kicked the spray bottle out of his hands before kicking him onto his back.

 _And that's when all chaos broke out._


	19. chapter eighteen - shock

_**song for the chapter - nothing else matters by little mix**_

Helpless.

That's how I felt. Absolutely and positively helpless.

I had to sit here and watch my teammates get battered around by two petty (well kind of) criminals and I couldn't do a thing. I was watching Kayden intensely to see when I could finally join in the fight.

"Kid Danger!" My voice was strained as I yelled at him. Kyle had tripped him and pressed a foot in his back so he couldn't get up. I heard the whine of his weapon powering up as Henry struggled beneath him. "Pressure points!"

Henry comprehended what I was saying and reached back to grab the two pain points in Kyle's ankle. The older teen collapsed as his ankle gave out, letting Henry up off the ground. As soon as Henry stood all the way up, the glass disappeared beneath my fingertips, letting me free. My eyes snapped to Kayden who gave me a thumbs up.

I stepped off the platform shakily. Using my powers to support me somewhat, I made my way towards the boys. Ray and Drex were currently wrestling on the floor and pulling each other's hair like two little kids so I was able to pop a bubble and transform. I moved my left hand towards Drex and pulled him away from Ray. I kept him held tightly before stopping Kyle from nailing a punch to my boyfriend's eye.

"Jay!" Henry's eyes landed on me as I clenched my jaw in concentration. The two villains were struggling which forced more of a strain on my already deteriorating focus. "You're going to exhaust yourself! Let them down."

Henry walked right in front of me and placed his hands on my shoulders. I took a deep breath and clenched my hands a little tighter causing the boys to stop moving. Ray finally pulled himself off the ground and made his way towards us.

"Jay, let them down. You're putting too much strain on yourself. I promise everything will be fine." Ray looked between the two attackers. "Just let go. It'll be okay."

I dropped my hands before sinking to the ground as my ankle seared with pain. My adrenaline wore off and everything was starting to hurt twice as much as before. Henry kneeled down in front of me and pulled me in his lap before kissing my forehead.

"You're okay. I'm so glad you're okay," He whispered. I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed him tightly.

"As cute as this little reunion is, I think it's time I separate you, once and for all." Kyle smirked at us as he and Drex aim their weapons on us. Henry tightened in grip on me as Ray attempted to push himself in front of us.

"You don't have to do this," Ray tried to reason with them.

Kyle shook his head, "I've waited so long for this opportunity. I'm not about to give it up now."

I closed my eyes as the weapons hummed. Ray wrapped his arms around us in a last attempt effort to protect us from the attack. I braced myself for the pain but nothing happened. Instead, the door slammed open, shaking all of us.

 _"Paws off the little sister!"_

Ray moved back a bit to look at who barged in. To my shock, Jackson was standing in the doorway, the tranquilizer dart gun strapped to his arm with both Charlotte and Jasper on each of his sides. I could see Lucky hiding between their legs, posed to attack at any second.

"Who the heck are you?" Drex dropped his aim slightly as Jackson walked further in the room. Charlotte held back Lucky by the collar as Jasper trained his weapon on Kyle. For once, he was completely concentrated and his aim would be dead on.

"None of your business. All I know is you have something of mine and I'd appreciate it if you could return it." Jackson cocked an eyebrow at Drex as Henry picked me up off the ground.

Kyle scoffed, "If you mean your sister, it's not happening."

Charlotte mumbled something before letting go of Lucky's collar. He took off sprinting before jumping on Kyle, his teeth latching on his arm. Kyle screamed and tried to shake him off but Lucky held tight. When he finally released him, he jumped at Kyle's ankle next. While Kyle was busy with my dog, Jasper and Jackson attacked Drex, landing a tranquilizer dart in his neck.

The criminal dropped to the ground, unmoving. Lucky finally got off Kyle as Charlotte used Schwoz's neutralizing neuron gun to freeze Kyle in his spot. With the two taken down, Ray finally called in the police.

"I have many questions and I'm not going to ask until we get you home but first, are you okay?" Jackson walked towards Henry and I, concerned etched into his face. All I could do was nod since my voice didn't want to work again.

"We'll take her with us and fix her up and then I'll bring her home," Henry suggested. Jackson nodded and patted Henry's shoulder before walking towards Ray who was handcuffing Drex. Charlotte and Jasper were having a blast drawing on Kyle with a sharpie they found. Henry set me back down as Lucky climbed on top of me, licking my face.

I shook my head to get away from his slobber before he finally calmed down and sat in my lap. I scratched his back as I leaned into Henry's shoulder, finally relaxing. After today, I was totally okay with curling up and watching movies until I couldn't anymore. Oh, and ice cream sounded absolutely _wonderful_.

Eventually, police men and women flooded the room to take Kyle and Drex into custody. It took a bit of persuasion from my half for them to leave Kayden alone but they dropped it after a while before allowing him to leave. Once the room was cleared, Henry picked me back up as Jackson clipped Lucky's leash on.

"I'll see you at home." My brother walked towards me and kissed my forehead before heading out of the room with my dog bouncing happily by his side.

"Ready to get out of here?" Henry opened his mouth for me to shove one of his bubblegums in. I nodded in response before popping my own bubble. I buried myself into the warmth of Henry's hoodie as he transformed back. We followed our friends in silence as they led the way back upstairs.

My eyelids drooped as Henry continued to walk. I knew I was going to be asleep before we even got out of here but sleep had never sounded so good before. I leaned my head on my boyfriend's shoulder, finding comfort in the smell of his cologne.

"You can sleep. Don't worry," Henry squeezed me lightly, "I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."

I smiled at him before closing my eyes. I owed my friends and family everything at this point. We had a lot to talk about, I knew that, but I wouldn't change it. If Jackson knows my secret, so be it. Ray might not be happy with the revelation but we (well, Henry and I) made it out of that fight alive and that was all that mattered.

The noises around my slowly faded into nothing as I let sleep take over. At least I'd be waking up somewhere safe, somewhere warm. Especially with Henry around, I knew I would be waking up _happy_.


	20. chapter nineteen - family

_**song for the chapter - why by sabrina carpenter**_

When I started working at Junk-N-Stuff, loud noises weren't uncommon. Whether it was Henry dropping lightbulbs or Ray breaking something, I was used to it all. There were so many breakable items between the store and the Man Cave, I was surprised everything wasn't covered in bubble wrap.

So when I was woken up by a crashing noise, I was surprisingly startled. I immediately sat up with wide eyes and tried to find the source. To my annoyance, but also relief, it was Ray trying to ride a bike _again_.

 _"I'm okay!"_

"Hi, Sleeping Beauty."

I turned in my spot to find Henry sitting a few inches away. He looked somewhat refreshed and awake compared to when I last saw him. Charlotte and Jasper weren't anywhere to be seen at the moment so it was just Ray, Henry, and me in the room.

"Hey," My voice cracked with my response. Henry slid over an extra water bottle. I opened it and gulped half of it down.

"Better?" He laughed at my actions.

I nodded, "Much, thank you. Is everything okay?"

"Hey Joce!" Charlotte's voice came from behind me as she and Jasper walked out of the elevator. Jasper pulled himself over the couch on Henry's other side as Charlotte went to sit by the monitors.

"Feeling better?" Jasper pulled his phone out. He didn't wait for me to answer before leaning towards Henry, "Dude, look at the new bucket I found! It has the _Captain Man_ symbol on it."

"Yeah, yeah." Henry pushed Jasper's phone back towards him. "Get it for yourself."

Jasper nodded, "I'm going to get one for each of us!"

"Jasper, don't!" Charlotte shouted after him as he took off upstairs to order the buckets. She sighed, "Why do I like him again?"

I shrugged. "No idea, buddy." I turned back towards Henry. "Did Jackson go home?"

He nodded. "He said he'd wait up for you. What are you going to do about him knowing?"

"There's always this!" Ray threw the Memory Wiper on the table in front of us. I gave him a deadbeat look. There was no way in _hell_ I was going to wipe my brother's memory. "Well, I tried." Ray picked it back up off the table and turned to put it away.

"Seriously, though." I twisted my back to watch him walk away, "Are you okay? With him knowing?"

Ray sighed, "It's another person in danger, Jocelyn. But he's your brother. It's not like you go with us all the time either, so it's not as bad as Pipper knowing."

" _Piper_ ," Henry corrected, "It's Piper."

"Yeah, whatever." Ray waved him off before heading out the secret door. "I'm going for a hula lesson, see you later."

I rolled my eyes at him. "What a loser."

Ray's voice came through the door, _"I heard that!"_

"Good, you were supposed to!" I shouted back.

Henry laughed at us before standing up. "Want me to walk home with you?"

I pushed myself off the couch, wincing at the pressure on my ankle. "Please."

Charlotte spun around in her chair to face us as we walked towards the elevator. "Have fun, lovebirds!"

I rolled my eyes at her and pressed the up button on the elevator. Henry tried to defend us but the doors closed before he could finish. It was chilly outside, with it being night and all. Summer was coming to a close and fall was right around the corner which meant school would be starting soon. I wasn't ready to go back to that chaos. Senior year terrified me. Actually, the idea of college and being an adult terrified me even more.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Henry's voice brought me back to reality.

I shrugged. "A lot of things. Namely, how I'm going to convince my brother to keep our double identities a secret."

Henry nodded and looked back to the street as we walked. "I think he'll understand. I mean, he came with Charlotte and Jasper, right? It's not like he didn't believe them."

"This summer turned out way different than I thought it would," I joked. I kicked a rock further down the path, watching as it bounced along the street.

"Yeah," Henry agreed, "You're not wrong there."

Eventually, my house came into view, setting my stomach full of butterflies. I stopped in front of the door to take a deep breath. Henry grabbed my shoulders and spun me towards him.

"He's your brother, Joce. It's gonna be fine." Henry's thumb rubbed my cheek gently. I sighed and nodded before grabbing his hand. The door was already unlocked as I pushed it open. Jackson was on the couch with his laptop, Lucky curled up beside him.

"Hey," I whispered. My dog was off the couch in seconds, jumping into my arms.

Jackson looked up from whatever he was watching before patting the spot next to him. I made my way towards him as Henry closed the door before joining my side. I recognized the video as soon as I sat down next to my brother. It was from after the fire when we left the hospital. News cameras were everywhere, something about Captain Man and his sidekicks visiting two kids at the hospital making everyone crazy.

 _"And how did you guys make it out okay?"_ Evelyn Hall's voice came from the laptop speakers as Henry and I watched.

 _"We didn't, actually. Well, Captain Man did but we came out a little more bruised than we expected."_ My voice followed as I shifted on screen.

 _"Yeah,"_ Kid Danger agreed, _"We're fine now, but those kids were our main priority so we wanted to make sure everything was okay with them."_

 _"How sweet!"_ Evelyn cooed, _"At least Captain Man's sidekicks are dedicated to people."_

Her statement was directed at Ray, who rolled his eyes and ignored her. The video ended but Jackson stopped the autoplay before another one started. There was an awkward silence as we stared at the laptop screen.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Jackson pulled the computer closed and shifted to face Henry and I.

I pulled my legs beneath myself to sit criss-cross. "The more people that know, the more dangerous it is. Safety and security reasons."

My brother nodded. "So your friends all got to know but I didn't?"

Henry jumped in from behind me, placing his chin on my shoulder. His arms wrapped around my waist and tugged me into his lap. "Charlotte knew way before Jocelyn. And then Jasper found out unwillingly. It was a struggle to keep our boss from erasing his memory."

Jackson sighed. "So you don't go on every mission, right?"

I nodded. "Only when I'm needed. And that's usually rare but recently, it's been more often."

"You know we have to tell Dad, right?" My brother rubbed his forehead.

I shook my head. "Jackson, we can't."

"Why shouldn't I? You're putting yourself in danger, Joce. He's going to find out eventually."

"Then let it be eventually!" I defended, "Jackson, I can't do that. He'll make me quit and after the whole showdown with Mom, I'm not about to lose the only sense of protection I have."

"Fine," He caved, "But you don't go unless they absolutely need you."

I nodded my head, knowing whatever he said would be ignored, but if it kept him quiet, so be it. "You promise you won't tell?"

Jackson looked up, glancing at Henry before his eyes landed on me. "Yeah, baby sis. I promise."

I leaned forward and wrapped him in a hug, relief flooding over me. I was glad he knew. It was another person I could trust but I was worried. Jackson was another person who could be used against us. I just prayed that would never happen.

After telling stories for a few hours and watching interviews, Henry left to go home. Dad was still out for the night so my brother and I had the house to ourselves. As soon as the door closed behind Henry, Jackson pulled me into another hug.

"I'm really proud of you, Jocelyn." He ruffled my hair, teasingly.

I shoved his hand away but smiled regardless. "Yeah, yeah. I'm the coolest, bestest sister ever, I got it."

"Hey, I didn't say-" He tried to object to my statement but gave up, "You know, whatever. Think what you want."

"Thanks, Jackson." I winked at him as I made my way up the stairs. "You're the bestest brother, too."

There was a moment of silence as I walked into my bedroom before he yelled up at me. "You've got that right!"


	21. chapter twenty - sparkle

_**song for the chapter - marry me by jason derulo**_

My palms were sweaty at my sides as I stepped off the stairs. Despite everything being absolutely perfect, I was terrified and nervous. Today had been all preparation but if I was honest, I had been preparing for this day for so long.

"Jocelyn, you look amazing." Charlotte crossed her arms as she leaned against the couch. She was dressed and ready to go, as usual.

I took a deep breath as I did another once over in the mirror. "Thanks. I feel sick to my stomach."

"We all do," Jasper piped up from his spot next to the curly haired girl. His arm was wrapped around her waist, holding her tightly. "Even Henry, though he won't admit it."

My blond boyfriend had yet to be seen today and it had my stomach in knots. He promised he would be here to help me keep my chill. If he didn't show up, not only would his parents be angry, but I might kill him myself if his job didn't.

"Kids, we have to go!" My dad poked his head back through the front door. His eyes landed on me, making him step in the room. "God, you're so grown up."

I rolled my eyes. "Save the crying for later, please. You've already done this once."

My dad shook his head and glanced over his shoulder. "Yeah, but now it's my favorite child and I don't know if I can handle that."

"I heard you." Jackson's voice followed my dad's comment as he stepped in behind him. "Seriously, if you guys don't want to be late, we need to go."

"But Henry's not-" I tried to stall but Jackson wasn't having it.

"Jocelyn, come _on_. We need to go." My brother practically dragged me out to the car, leaving Charlotte and Jasper to follow me.

Once we were all seated and buckled, Dad started the car and drove off. My stomach felt like it was in my throat as I played with the fabric of my outfit. Charlotte pulled my hand in hers, squeezing it tightly. Her other one was wrapped with Jasper's, fingers intertwined. Silence filled the backseat, all of us too nervous to talk.

The parking lot was already packed when we pulled up. Classmates were filing in and thousands of cameras were flashing. I was careful climbing out of the car with my heels, not wanting to embarrass myself already. Charlotte and Jasper met me on the other side, all three of us walking in together. I could hear Jackson snapping pictures as we walked.

My nerves became even worse as soon as I saw all of the chairs lining the event hall. We had practiced this for weeks and yet, I was still sure I would fall. I broke away from Charlotte and Jasper to take my seat up front. My heart was pounding and I was positive the girl next to me could hear it.

About thirty minutes passed before the ceremony started. Even then, time flew faster before it was time for the real deal. My throat tightened as I made my way up the steps to the podium. I could see my paper already up there, typed neatly so I wouldn't forget any line. I gripped the sides of the podium tightly, hoping it would somewhat calm my nerves.

I cleared my throat quietly before beginning to speak. "Hi, everyone. My name is Jocelyn Adams and as you can tell, I'm one of the graduating seniors today." A few chuckles came from the crowd at my words. "I know you've heard plenty of speeches tonight and you're bored of them so, I'll keep mine short. I want to eat and party just as much as you do." More laughs from the crowd.

I took a deep breath before continuing, "Two years ago, I went through the most traumatizing event I've ever had. As many of you know, Captain Man and Kid Danger have been protecting our town for a while now. They have enemies, plenty of them. One of them happened to be my mother." Gasps ran through the crowd and I could see my classmates whispering. "Now, this isn't a pity party, that's not why I'm here. I'm standing here today to tell you to be yourself. Yes, it's a cliche saying but only you can decide how your life goes.

"When my mom came back to town, I wanted to give up more than anything. I thought everything would've ended, then and there. It didn't. Out of the mess of her return, I gained the three best friends I've ever had in my life." I made eye contact with Charlotte, her being the easiest to find out of the group. "Each and every day since, I've had the constant support from them, my family, and my boss, people who I should've held close for a long time. There's a time, like now, that we have to take control of our life and make it ours. If we don't we live the life someone else wants for us, and we'll never _truly_ be happy."

My eyes teared up as I neared the last paragraph. I knew this was the end of something big. "If you would've asked me the first day of freshmen year if I thought I would be where I was, I would've laughed in your face. Our futures can't be planned. There's a chance for change around every corner and we have to take advantage of it and _live_. One day, we won't have the opportunities we do and we're going to regret that. Forming friendships, keeping those who matter most close, that's what's going to get us through life. Giving up will drop us back at square one. We can't let that happen. As a class, I've seen the worst and best out of most of you. We've formed memories that will last a lifetime beyond these walls and it's our job to continuing making those. We have to make memories for our friends, our future families, and most importantly, ourselves. Time starts now, you guys. Don't let life lead you along. Take it by surprise and do something, make a change. I promise, you won't regret that. Ever."

Applause followed my last line, a few people standing. I let out a sigh of relief, wiping my eyes gently so I wouldn't mess up my makeup. I made a move to head back to my seat but a new voice stopped me.

"Jocelyn."

My heart skipped a beat as none other than Captain Man stepped up on the other side of the stage. Cheers rose from the crowd along with a few loud shouts from fans. Ray smiled and waved, thanking a few and agreeing with most.

"Graduating class of Swellview, I stand before you today due to an invite from someone close to me. Although I didn't know most of you, I knew a select few of you very well, including Jocelyn." Ray held a hand out to me as he spoke. I crossed the stage to stand next to him as he put his arm around my shoulder. "One of her best friends came to me today and asked me to speak to you briefly, which I know you love."

Cheers followed Ray's speech. My eyes locked on Charlotte and Jasper who both shrugged in response as to why he was here. I bit my lip and took a deep breath.

"First, congratulations to all of you students. You've all made me...look like the best superhero Swellview has. Second, I want to wish a major congratulations to my favorite couple, Jocelyn Adams and Henry Hart. I want my invite delivered personally."

I gave Ray a weird look. "Why are you-"

He smiled at me. "Turn around."

A wave of screams filled the room, scaring me further. Ray tilted his head, assuring me everything was fine. I closed my eyes for a brief second before spinning on my heels. My hands immediately went to my mouth, tears forming in my eyes.

None other than Henry Hart was in front of me, down on one knee. A black velvet box was in his hands and I could see him mouth something to me but I couldn't hear over the cheers. I was frozen in my spot until Ray nudged me from behind. I walked towards Henry, my hands still covering my mouth with tears flowing freely.

"Is that a yes?" I could barely hear him this time but it was enough. I nodded sparking more cheers from the crowd. Henry stood up as both of us collided in a hug. He squeezed me tightly as I cried, probably ruining the makeup Charlotte spent hours on.

Henry let go of me first, only to attack my lips seconds later. More cheering came from the crowd and I could hear Ray commentating behind me. When I stepped back, Henry pulled my left hand up, slipping the shiny ring onto my finger. I finally laughed and wrapped him in another hug, too excited for words.

"Alright, thank you, Captain Man, for that lovely moment." Our principal made his way back up onto the stage, quieting the crowd. "Miss Adams, Mr. Hart, please return to your seats so we can get this show on the road."

Henry offered me his hand before leading me down the stairs carefully. Our principal began another speech as both of us sat down next to each other. All my nerves had disappeared and were instead filled with excitement as I finally looked at the new sparkling item on my finger.

Three bands wrapped around each other, one rose gold, one silver, and one filled with diamonds. All of them met together on the back of the ring and the front, where they connected to the larger diamonds. There was one big one surrounded by two smaller ones, each dazzling in the light.

Henry squeezed my knee as names started getting called for diplomas. I smiled at him and leaned on his shoulder, keeping the tears at bay this time.

In the mess of being teammates with Captain Man and Kid Danger, a lot of good came out of it. I now have the three, four, best friends I could ever ask for, including Ray. I had the best older brother and the nicest father. On top of it all, I had superpowers and a loving, caring, and supportive boyfriend who could get me through anything. There were ups and down, goods and bads, and in the end, I was the happiest girl alive. So yeah, maybe we take on the bad guys while others have movie marathons but I wouldn't change a thing. Bring on the new memories, battles, and enemies. We were ready to take on the world.

 _ **the sappiest ending for our favorite couple. please murder me, that was so cute to write. i'm gonna miss writing about them.**_

 _ **hope you all enjoyed! let me know your thoughts in the comments :)**_


	22. end

_and there's the ending to dancing with danger. i'm actually super sad this is finished because i love writing about henry danger. it's just such a fun show and there's so much potential (that never gets used correctly if i'm honest)._

 _anyway, if you've made it this far, thank you so so so much for reading. i hope you've enjoyed this book as much as i have. it's one that i'm proud of and one that i'll miss writing._

 _i'd like to thank a few people that made an influence on this book and others._

 _firstly, my parents, for letting me hide in my room for hours on end. i've written endless chapters and made so much progress that this book definitely wouldn't be finished if they didn't let me hide in there. so, thanks for that. also, thanks for the super fast wifi that never fails me. it's a blessing._

 _next, my little sister, for watching each and every episode with me and letting me freak out over jace norman. you make each day a little more interesting than the last. also, thank you for mispronouncing Jocelyn's name when you read the first book. i love to laugh about that._

 _thank you to perrie edwards and the girls of little mix for writing music and being a true gift. the words you give me have so much inspiration and meaning that it's an honor to be able to use those lyrics in my writing. you guys make me laugh and smile at least once everyday and i'll always be there to support you._

 _to my friend nicole who read, edited, and suggested all kinds of ideas for dancing with danger. i feel like you've read my cheesiest lines and cringed with me since day one. thank you for freaking out over my updates at lunch and making my writing better. you're awesome._

 _lastly, to the cast of henry danger. you guys have given me countless moments of laughter and smiles to last a lifetime. i feel like a kid again every time i watch a new episode. even behind the scenes and interviews, i can laugh along and feel like i know you all personally. i can watch any episode, no matter how many times, and laugh like i haven't heard the awful pickup lines before. thank you all for making my days a little more fun._

 _and a huge thank you to my readers, especially those of you who have been here since day one. you guys make me super happy and proud of my work. i was so worried about publishing my books for fear that they wouldn't be read. the feedback i've received is incredible and i'm so glad you all have enjoyed the books. you guys are the reason that i get to escape from reality for a little bit and write away. that's something i will never take for granted._

 _ **i'll see you all again soon :)**_

 _ **xo**_

 _ **eves**_

september 16, 2017 - january 27, 2018


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